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Book 



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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




A BORDERLAND INDIAN CHIEF. 



WHEN MICHIGAN 

WAS NEW 



BY 



HULDA T. HOLLANDS 



CHICAGO 
A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two CoDies Received 

JUN 15 1906 

r\ eopyritfht Entry 
)CLASS CC W. NO. 



Copyright 1906 

BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 



CONTENTS 




1 


Page 


Americans, The First ^ j 


7 


Battle of Bloody/ Ridge 


116 


Cadillac's Village 


79 


Canal, the First 


220 


Cass, Lewis 


155 


Copper 


198 


Copper, Discovery of A Legend ^^ 


200 


Detroit, Early History of 


59 


Detroit, Old 


130 


Eternal Fire, The 


201 


Face of the Moon, The A Legend 


42 


Fire-Fly Game, The 


39 


Hahitans 


169 


Hotv the Arhutus Came to Michigan. A Legend 


177 


HidVs Surrender, General 


150 


Indian Corn 


23 


Indian Games 

3 


37 



4 CONTENTS 

Page 

Indian Feasts 27 

Indian Fishers 18 

Indian Hunters 11 

Indian Legends and Fairy Tales 14 

Indian Lidlahy 47 

Indian Names 48 

Indian Tramps 52 

Indian War Dance 40 

Island Fairies, The A Legend 75 

Lake Superior Boats, Before the Canal 216 

Iron Ore 191 

Land of Souls, The A Legend 25 

La Salle and the Griffon 62 

Mackinaiv Massacre, The 121 

Manitou of Belle Isle, The A Legend 70 

Maple Sugar 32 

Marquette, Pere 202 

Mich-ili-mack-i-nac 72 

Michigan's First Motto 142 

Michigan's First Yell ' 174 

Military Forts 181 

Missionaries and Fjir Traders 59 

Pontiac 91 

Pontiac's Conspiracy 95 



CONTENTS 6 

Page 

Rattlesnakes 21 

Richard, Gabriel 165 

Rodd, Old Mother 54 

Roger's Rangers 88 

Saiilf Sfe. Marie, Before the Canal 211 

Shingehis and Kahehonika. A Legend 33 

Sleeping Bear, Legend of the 210 

St. Clair Flats 175 

Tick-e-na-gnn. A Legend 46 
Timid Hare and the Cruel Lynx, The A Legend 50 

Walk-in-the-Water 163 

Weeng. A Legend 16 

White, Peter 224 



WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 



THE FIRST AMERICANS 

The fikst inhabitants of the Borderland region of 
whom we have any certain knowledge, were the American 
Indians. Where they came from is a mystery. They 
were here when the new world was discovered. The beau- 
tiful waters of the lakes and the rivers were their high- 
ways, over which they glided in their frail canoes. The 
great forests were their hunting grounds, where they 
followed the zig-zag trails, in search of shy bird and beast 
to satisfy their hunger. 

From the carefully preserved records of the earliest 
pioneer missionaries and explorers, we learn many very 
interesting facts concerning them. These visitors found 
them living in their wigwams and lodges of skin and 
bark. Their homes were rude in design and construction, 
yet they satisfied the simple necessities of a primitive 
people. The wigwams were small, while the lodges were 
large and roomy, well lined and carpeted with fur rugs 
and rush mats. 

7 



8 WHEX MICHIGAX WAS NEW 

Their clothing was made of the skins of wild animals, 
ornamented with colored porcupine quills and brilliant 
feathers. Strings of wamjDum beads were worn around 
the neck, and suspended from the perforated nose and 
ears. They plaited strips of ornamented buckskin with 
the strands of their long black hair, which hung in a 
heavy braid down their backs. The great chiefs were 
distinguished from the common warriors by their orna- 
ments. Their head-dress was a tuft of eagle feathers. 
The necklace was made of bear's claws. The belt was 
the woven hair of the bear or bison and on the breast was 
a crescent of hammered copper. 

Their cooking utensils were modeled according to 
their crude ideas of form and beauty, and were made of 
the materials that nature furnished. Some were made 
of stone, some of wood and others of baked clay. The 
latter, of which many pieces are still in existence, furnish 
specimens of the first American pottery. 

Their food consisted of the game they killed, the fish 
they caught and the scanty crops they raised. Corn was 
the staple food, and it also figured largely in their le- 
gends and folk-lore. Besides corn, they raised beans, 
melons and squashes in large quantities. 

Their weapons for war and hunting consisted of stone 
tomahawks, war clubs, spears, and bows and arrows. The 
bows were long and strong and were very etfective in 
the hands of the savage warriors. The arrows were 
tipped at one end with flint points, at the other with 
feathers. 

Pipes were a very important feature of all their cere- 
monial gatherings, their war and peace councils, and 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 9 

their feasts. Some of these were made of baked clay, and 
some were carved from stone. They were unique and 
grotesque in design, but crude in workmanship. 




PEACE PIPES AND STEELS FOR STRIKING FIRE. 

Wampum was used by the Indians for the record and 
enforcement of their unwritten laws and treaties. Busi- 
ness transactions between different tribes, or nations, 
was not recognized unless confirmed by strings or belts 
of wampum. There were two kinds of wampum — white 
and dark purple. Both kinds were carved from the outer 
and inner layers of certain sea shells into beads of dif- 
ferent shapes and sizes. An inferior kind of wampum 
was sometimes made of the small spiral fresh water 
shells that were found in large quantities along the 
pebbly shores of the Borderland. The wampum beads 
were strung on strings of deer skin or the strong sinews 
of that animals, and were then plaited into braids or 
belts. 



10 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

^^Chemaun'' was the native name for their canoes. 
These were long, narrow, and pointed at both ends. Some 
were made of skins stretched over a light frame of wood, 
some were made of logs hollowed out nntil the surface 
was very thin, and some were made of birch bark. The 
latter were most in use, and much pains were taken in 
their construction. The bark was stripped from the tree 
in one piece, large enough for the whole canoe. The ends 
were sewed together with the fine strong roots of the 
cedar and then the boat was made water-tight by cover- 
ing the weak places with boiling pine pitch. It was then 
stretched over a frame work of very thin ribs and cross 
pieces, made from strips of cedar, and gaudily painted 
with natural mineral paints. Both ends were elevated 
above the water, and when completed it resembled a Ve- 
netian gondola in shape. Although so light, it was very 
strong. 

The marriage ceremony was quite simple. The bride- 
groom built a new lodge and furnished it. When the 
wedding day arrived, the bride filled a dish with corn, 
gathered sufficient fuel to cook it, and carried them to the 
new lodge. This ceremony was followed by a great feast, 
to which all the relatives, and sometimes the whole vil- 
lage, were invited. 

The Indian woman was frugal and industrious. She 
wove the rush and corn-husk mats to furnish her home. 
She tanned the deerskins, and shaped them into clothing 
for her family. She cured the soft, rich furs of the na- 
tive animals for rugs and wraps. She plaited splint bas- 
kets to hold her corn and beans, and she rolled the wild 
hemp on her thigh, and twisted it into twine, to make fish 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 11 

nets. She tilled the ground, planted the seeds, and gath- 
ered the crops. She dried corn and beans for succotash; 
and melons and squashes to add to her savory venison 
stew. The maple trees furnished her with sweets, and 
the forest depths with wild fruit and berries. She 
dressed the game and smoked the venison that her Indian 
brave brought to the lodge, and she carried her papoose 
on her back wherever she went. When there was nothing 
more important to do she embroidered her deerskin 
blouse, scanty petticoat and moccasins, with colored por- 
cupine quills and wampum beads. It was considered a 
disgrace for the Indian brave to perform menial labor 
of any kind. The wife was expected to do all that was 
necessary for his comfort and pleasure, leaving him free 
to hunt and fish and battle with his enemies. 



INDIAN HUNTERS 

As THE Indians depended almost entirely upon the 
forests, lakes and rivers for their food, they all became 
expert hunters, as well as fishermen. Some of the old 
men of the tribes that lived in the villages along the Bor- 
derland told the early settlers that game of all kinds was 
so abundant when the white men first appeared in this 
region that the wild animals drew up in two lines along 
the shore to allow the canoes to pass through the rivers 
between them. Herds of buffalo wandered over the 
prairies, trampling down the flowers and grasses as they 
rushed on in their clumsy manner. They roamed along 
the banks of the Detroit and St. Clair rivers and the 
wooded shores of the Great Lakes. Wild pigeons swept 



12 



WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 



along like clouds overhead, in such numbers that they 
sometimes darkened the sun. Flocks of ducks, geese and 
swans nested and raised their young among the reeds 
and rushes along the waterways. Great moose and elk, 
with horns like the trees of the forest, crashed through 



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INDIAN ARROWHEADS. 

the brush and thickets. Droves of deer browsed in the 
oak openings and black bear fed on the wild berries and 
acorns. The dark forests were noisy with the calls and 
whistling of the wild turkey and other game birds, and 
the prairies were alive with grouse and partridge. 



THE PEEIOD OF DISCOVERY 13 

During the summer the Indians cultivated their cro])s 
of corn, beans and squashes, but when the winter hunting 
season arrived they started on their annual hunting ex- 
peditions. Their winter hunting camps were sometimes 
many miles distant. For this reason the women, children 
and very old men were left in the villages. 

The hunting camps were warm and comfortable. They 
were built of logs piled one upon the other, with the crev- 
ices filled with moss gathered from old trees. The roof 
was made of sheets of bark overlapping each other, with 
a hole in the center for the escape of the smoke which 
arose from the fire on the earthen floor beneath. The beds 
were arranged along the sides of the room. They were 
raised from the ground on logs, which were covered with 
sheets of bark, over which they spread their softest and 
warmest furs. The beds were narrow and served as 
seats in the daytime. These hunting camps were always 
built near the water, on the bank of a river or lake. 

The Indians hunted and trapped the bear, the beaver, 
the bison and other fur-bearing animals, m.ore especially 
for their furs, while the deer and elk furnished them with 
both skins and meat. They were experts in hunting rac- 
coons, which they caught in traps. These traps were 
made of logs, and were placed near the edge of ponds 
and marshy places where the raccoons went in search of 
frogs. The Indians were very fond of raccoon meat, 
which they boiled and ate with maple syrup. 

The annual ring hunt, in which the whole tribe some- 
times took part, was held every fall before they started 
for their winter hunting camp. The ring was made by 
setting fire to the leaves and grass in a circle of fifteen or 



14 



WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 



twenty miles. This fire drove all the game to the center 
of the ring, where they had built an enclosure of logs and 
brush, into which the frightened animals of all kinds were 
driven. They were then slaughtered in great numbers. 




SKINNERS AND HATCHETS. 



sometimes as many as five hundred deer being killed, be- 
sides other game. When the hunt was over the game 
was equally divided among the hunters. 



INDIAN LEGENDS and FAIRY TALES 

Although the Indians had no written stories in books, 
or manuscripts, they had a very interesting folk-lore. 
There were hunting stories, and songs, and legends and 
fairy tales, besides the stories of their totems and of the 
daring exploits of their great warriors and young chiefs. 
When the long winter evenings arrived, they gath- 
ered around the lodge fires and listened to these stories, 
which were told to them by the old story tellers of the dif- 
ferent tribes. 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 



15 



Among the earliest visitors to the Borderland were 
the French missionaries, who came to this region to 
teach the red men. Before they could begin their work 




it was necessary for them to learn the language of the 
natives. The first step in this direction was to win their 
confidence and good will. This was done by making them 
presents of generous lengths of broadcloth, gaudy col- 
ored calicoes, glass beads and silver ornaments, and by 



16 WHEX MICHIGAX ^YAS XE\Y 

mingling freely with them in their homes. The mission- 
aries went with the Indians on their Imnting and fishing- 
expeditions, ate their stewed venison and succotash from 
wooden bowls with wooden spoons, smoked their clay 
and stone peace pipes around the lodge fires and slex)t in 
their wigwams. 

In this way the missionaries learned to understand 
and speak the language of the red men, and at the same 
time they heard and remembered the legends and fairy 
tales, stories and songs, as they were told by the Indian 
story tellers nearly three hundred years ago. When they 
returned to the mission houses they wrote these stories 
in their own language. Many of the manuscripts which 
they wrote at that time have been carefully preserved. 
It is from these manuscripts that historians have learned 
much about the very early history of the Borderland. 
Scattered along through this history are the legends and 
fairy tales that were told to the first American boys and 
girls, long before the white men knew anything about 
this country. 

WEENG 

Weeng was the Kmg of Sleepy Land, and ruler over 
all the little fairies who guarded the Indian children 
while they slept. During the daytime these tiny crea- 
tures hid in all sorts of curious places around the lodges 
and wigwams. They crawled under the loose bark on the 
roof, cuddled down in the warm ashes of the camp fire, 
or behind the birch bark mokoks of maple sugar. Each 
one was armed with a tiny war club. When the darkness 



THE rEKIOD OF DLSCO\^EJ{Y 17 

began to settle down over the forest they went around 
among the children and tapped them gently on their fore- 
heads to make them sleep. If one blow was not enough 
it was repeated again and again until the eyelids, grew 
heavy and ])egan to droop, the heads began to nod, and 
one by one the children all floated away into Sleepy Land. 

The AYeengs were especially fond of the little pa- 
pooses. They hid in the long braids of hair that hung 
down the mother's back, or perched upon her ear until it 
was naptime for the little one. Then they would tap the 
round black head very gently, until it began to nod, when 
the mother would whisper softly to herself, "The 
Weengs have called the papoose,'' and she would wrap 
him in the warm soft furs and place him in the bark ham- 
mock that hung from the center pole of the wigwam. 

But it was not the children alone who felt the gentle 
taps of the tiny war clubs. The Weengs sometimes hid 
in the tobacco pouch of the hunter, and when he sat down 
on a log to rest and smoke his pipe the}^ would climb to 
his forehead and give him a few taps that would send 
him off to sleep. Then the game would pass him in 
safety, and he would be obliged to return to his lodge and 
go to bed hungry. 

Once a great hunter whose name was lagoo went out 
with his dogs to kill a deer. He soon struck a fresh trail 
and followed it through a long stretch of forest. For a 
time he heard the baying of his dogs and then they were 
silent. He searched the forest, but could not find them. 
At last he drew near a lodge which was unlike any lodge 
he had ever seen. The sides were covered with vines, and 
clumps of small trees grew out of the roof. Here he 



18 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

found his dogs stretched out on the ground and every 
one of them fast asleep. 

This lodge was the home of the giant Weeng, the King 
of Sleepy Land. He was the friend of the timid deer, the 
hare and all the other forest creatures that the Indian 
hunters called game. 

As soon as the dogs had drawn near the lodge the 
good King commanded his little warriors to use their 
clubs and put them to sleep, thus allowing the poor fright- 
ened deer to escape from the himter. 

lagoo tried in vain to awaken them. In despair over 
his ill luck he cast his eyes upward, when he saw the giant 
King perched upon the branch of a tree overhead. He 
was in the form of an immense grasshopper, with many 
wings fastened along his back. These wings made a low 
murmuring sound like that of distant falling water. 

As the great hunter listened to the soothing sounds he 
felt the gentle taps of the war clubs on his own forehead 
and he found himself nodding and his eyelids growing 
heavy. He made a desperate effort to awaken, and at 
last succeeded in escaping from the home of the Weengs. 
But, much to his regret, he was obliged to leave his sleep- 
ing dogs behind him. 

INDIAN FISHERS 

When there was a scarcity of game and the dried 
meat was all gone, the Indians depended upon the waters 
of the lakes and rivers for their food. Each tribe claimed 
its favorite fishing ground. There were several methods 
of catching fish. Sometimes the Indian fisher used a 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 19 

hook and line. His hook was made of bone, and his line 
of twine, which the Indian women manufactured from 
the wild hemp. He also fished with scoop nets, which 
were made of the same kind of twine and fastened to 
long poles. 

The fishing canoe was small and light. It was guided 
by an Indian who sat in the stern while the fisher stood 
ujDright in the bow or sat astride of it with the scoop net 
in his hands. When he saw a school of fish passing 
through the water beneath him he lowered the net with a 
quick, dexterous movement, and in an instant a number 
of fish would be floundering in the bottom of the canoe. 

The most popular method of catching fish was by 
spearing. There was a fascination in this form of sport 
that made the red men very fond of it. When the sum- 
mer night was dark and clear and the water smooth and 
still, the Indian fisher would light his pitch-pine torch, 
place it in the bow of his canoe, fasten his flint spear 
point to a long slender pole, and paddle silently along 
the reedy shore, watching with his keen eyes every move- 
ment of the water until he arrived at the sleeping 
grounds of the large fish. His torch not only lighted the 
surface of the water but he could also see the sandy bot- 
tom, where the long black pickerel, the mammoth mus- 
callonge, the sturgeon, and sometimes the silvery white 
fish and speckled trout, lay stretched out fast asleep. A 
swift stroke of the spear, a tumbling and splashing of the 
water, and then a great fish was flopping in the bottom 
of the canoe. 

One of the favorite fishing localities for all the Bor- 
derland tribes was the Rapids in the Sault Ste. Marie 



20 



WHEK MICHICtA^^ was NEW 



River. The Indians gave two names to this place — Ni- 
beesh, which means Strong Waters, and Pa-wa-teeg, 
which means the Leap of the Water. The white fish were 
very numerous in this river. The Indians called them 
Atti-ku-maig, which means the Deer of the AVaters, be- 
cause they were such swift swimmers. They were always 




seen swimming up the rapids, against the current. Into 
this swiftly flowing water the Indian pushed his canoe. 
When it had been forced to the uppermost rapid, where 
the fish were most numerous, the fisher would dip up as 
many fish as his scoop net would hold, and drop them in 
the bottom of his canoe. He would repeat this operation 
again and again, until he had a sufficient number, when 
he would shoot down the rapids and return to the shore. 
When the Indian cooked his fish, he hung his kettle 
high over a small blaze. The fish were boiled very slowly, 
in a small quantity of water. It was claimed that when 



THE PERIOD 0^ DISCOVERY 21 

the fish was boiled over a brisk fire in a low-hung pot it 
was soft and not fit to eat. 

The Indians believed that fish had souls and that 
these souls had once belonged to their friends, who were 
now in the happy hunting grounds. For this reason they 
never burned the refuse of the fish which they had eaten, 
fearing that if they did the other fish would not come into 
their nets. It was either thrown back into the water or 
carefully buried. 

RATTLESNAKES 

Many of the Indian tribes regarded the Rattlesnake 
with a supersititious veneration. They believed it was a 
great manitou, with power to reward or punish them ac- 
cording to their deeds, good or evil. One of the pioneer 
fur traders tells the following story: 

One night when he was in camp with his party of In- 
dian paddlers a rattlesnake appeared among them. It 
twisted its whole length into a coil, and raised its head 
as if to strike some one a fatal blow. The trader ran to 
his canoe to get his gun. But the Indians pleaded with 
him to spare the snake, and then, with their pipes and 
tobacco pouches in their hands, they surrounded it, and 
began to talk to it, calling it their great and good grand- 
father. But at the same time they kept a proper dis- 
tance from the flashing eyes and ominous rattle. 

During the ceremonies their pipes were filled and 
lighted and each one blew the smoke toward the snake, 
which appeared to enjoy the odor. It slowly lowered its 
head and then stretched itself out to a length of five or 



^2 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

six feet, and began to crawl away toward the alder thicket 
on the edge of the forest. The Indians followed it, ad- 
dressing it as their ^'good grandfather,^' beseeching it to 
care for their families during their absence and to open 
the heart of the French commandant and persuade him to 
fill their canoes with rum. They begged it to take no no- 
tice of the insult offered by the trader who would have 
shot it had they not interfered. 

At last the snake disappeared, leaving the Indians 
with the belief that this manitou had been sent to meet 
them and warn them to turn back and give up their trip 
across the lake to the forests of the great Northwest. 
But the trader threatened them with the wrath of the 
commandant of the trading post and coaxed them with 
gifts from his packages of supplies, and so at last pre- 
vailed upon them to continue the journey. 

At first the weather was fine ; then the wind began to 
blow, increasing in velocity until the Indians became 
alarmed. They called upon the Rattlesnake to come to 
their assistance, but the waves ran higher and higher 
and the gale became a hurricane. Their appeals being 
of no avail, they resorted to sacrifices to appease the 
wrath of the manitou. One of the chiefs wrapped a dog 
in a rush mat and threw it overboard, at the same time 
calling the manitou and imploring it to save them from 
drowning. But the storm continued to grow worse. An- 
other dog was sacrificed with the addition of some to- 
bacco, while they begged the angry manitou to save their 
lives, and not punish them for the insult offered by the 
trader. 

At last one of the chiefs declared that as the trader 



THE PERIOD OP DISCOVERY ^3 

was the cause of the storm he must be sacrificed to ap- 
pease the wrath of the insulted manitou. But, fortu- 
nately for the trader, before the preparations for the sac- 
rifice were completed the wind began to subside, and his 
life was spared. 

INDIAN CORN 

Befoke the white men found the red men the zea or 
maize furnished the principal food for the many tribes 
on the continent. They believed that it was a special gift 
to the red man from the Great Spirit. They called it 
Mondamin, which meant the Great Spirit's grain. 

They had a pretty legend, in which the corn-stalk in 
full tassel is represented as descending from the sky in 
the form of a handsome youth, in answer to the prayer of 
a young man who was fasting. 

The planting and gathering of the corn was left en- 
tirely with the women and children. A good Indian house- 
wife prided herself very much upon the quantity and 
quality of her winter stock of corn. Spring was a time 
of leisure with her and her children. The hunting season 
was past, and she had no meat to cure or skins to tan. 
The sugar making ended with the spring rains and the 
maple sweets were all packed away in the birch bark 
mokoks. When the planting season drew near, she left 
her lodge, and went with her children to the corn field, 
which was sometimes a long distance away. Here with 
her small wooden hoe she stirred the soil and buried her 
treasured Mondamin. 

A curious custom prevailed, which she believed would 



24 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

insure her a large crop of corn. The first dark night 
after the planting, the Indian wife and mother watched 
an opportunity to steal away from the lodge to some hid- 
ing place, unseen by her children. Here she removed her 
clothing and taking her principal garment in her hand she 
made a circuit around the field dragging it behind her. 
This would prevent the insects and worms from destroy- 
ing the grain, as they could not cross the charmed circle. 
The corn harvesting and husking was a season of mer- 
riment, feasting and song. On these occasions the chiefs 
and old men were pleased spectators. They smoked their 
pipes in dignified silence while the young men shared 
the labor and sport with the women and children. When 
one of the female huskers found an ear of red corn it was 
a sure sign that an admiring brave was soon to appear 
and she was expected to present it to some favored young 
warrior of the party. But if any young woman found an 
ear that was crooked or tapering to a point, no matter 
what the color might be, they began to clap their hands 
and laugh at the finder, and the word ' ' Wa-ge-min ' ' was 
shouted aloud by the whole party. This was considered 
a sign that no admiring brave would soon appear. In- 
stead, this was looked upon as foretelling a thief in the 
corn field, and was considered as the image of an old man 
stooping as he walked between the rows of rustling 
leaves. The Corn Song was sung at these merrymakings. 
Unlike our modern songs, the chorus always preceded the 
stanza. 

The following is a part of the Corn Song, translated 
from the Indian language : 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 25 

CHORUS. 

^ ^ Wa-ge-min ! Wa-ge-min ! 
Thief of the blade. 
Blight of the corn-field, 
Pai-mo-said. 

See yon not traces while pulling the leaf, 

See YOU not signs of the old man, the thief ! 

See you not moccasin tracks on the spot. 

Where the old man stooped as he crept through the lot'^ 

Is it not plain, by the marks on the stalk. 

That the old thief was clumsy, with a limp in his walk? 

Hooh ! old man, be nimble : let your journey be brief. 

Hooh ! now it is plain that the old man is the thief. ' ' 

THE LAND OF SOULS 

Aftek a long illness, during which the medicine men 
of the tribe practiced all their magic arts to save him, the 
favorite son of an Indian chief died. His body was placed 
on a pile of soft furs in the corner of the lodge. The 
father was very sad and mourned for a day and a night 
over the loss of his beloved son. Then in his great grief 
he set out with a party of friends to bring him l)ack from 
the Land of Souls. 

For many days thej^ were obliged to wade through 
a shallow lake, sleeping at night on platforms of poles, 
which supported them above the water. Then they jour- 
neyed over a long, rough road, and passed a roaring 
river, dark and deep, which was kept full of water by the 



26 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

falling tears of women weeping for their dead. At last 
after many days tliey reached the end of their journey. 

Here they found a tall Indian, whose name was Pap- 
koot-ka-root, guarding the place. He was in a great rage 
when he saw them approaching and held his war club 




STONE AXES. 

aloft, ready to strike. But when he learned the father ^s 
errand he changed his mind, made them welcome, and 
immediately challenged them to play a game of bagatta- 
way. The visitors won the game and also the prize, 
which consisted of corn, tobacco and fruits, which in this 
manner first became known to the human race. 

The father now began his plea for the return of his 
son's soul. After many hours of earnest discussion, Pap- 
koot-ra-koot at last consented to his request and placed 
the soul in the father's hands. It was in size and shape 
like a walnut. By pressing it with much force, he was 
able to squeeze it into a small buckskin bag, which he 
wore suspended from a string around his neck. Pap- 
koot-ra-koot gave him full instructions how to place it in 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 27 

the body of his son, who would immediately return to life. 

The father was delighted with his success, and started 
with his friends on his journey back to earth. When he 
reached his home there was much rejoicing, and dancing 
and a great feast was spread. The happy father, wish- 
ing to take part himself in the celebration of his son's re- 
turn to life, placed the precious buckskin bag, which con- 
tained his son's soul in the hands of an old medicine 
squaw, who stood near him. He supposed, of course, that 
it would be perfectly safe in the care of so wise a woman 
as she professed to be. 

But alas! for the poor father. The old medicine 
squaw was very curious to see what the soul looked like. 
Very cautiously she opened the bag and peeped into it. 
Then she took the nut in her hands. There was a loud 
explosion. The nut popped open and the two halves of 
the shell fell to the ground. Then there was a bright 
streak of light, reaching from the earth to the sky, which 
marked the passing of the escaped spirit as it once more 
took its flight to the Land of Souls. 

INDIAN FEASTS 

When the white men first visited the Indians in their 
winter homes they were much surprised at the social 
customs which prevailed. The simple natives were very 
hospitable. They were fond of visiting, and the aim of 
each family was to excel all others in spreading the finest 
feasts. If one was more successful than another in bring- 
ing home game or fish, he prepared a feast to which every 
one in the village was invited. When the hour arrived, 



28 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

they all started for the entertainer's lodge, each one car- 
rying his own wooden dish and spoon. The food was 
served with the greatest care, that each guest might re- 
ceive an equal share of the choicest portions. 

The meal was prolonged with cheerful conversation 
and stories of personal adventure. This was carried on 
by the old and middle-aged men and the chiefs. The 
women and girls listened attentively but took no part in 
the conversation. When the feast was over the women 
returned to their lodges, leaving the men to finish with a 
quiet smoke. This was the manner in which they con- 
ducted an ordinary feast. But there were many special 
feasts which were conducted with many ceremonies, suit- 
able for the various occasions. One feast was held an- 
nually, to which only young people were invited. No one 
else was admitted, excepting the entertainer and his wife, 
and two aged persons who were expected to instruct the 
youths and maidens of the tribe. The ceremony began 
with a sermon to the young men and boys who were pres- 
sent. Here is the sermon, to which they paid the closest 
attention : 

''Never steal, except it be from an enemy, whom it is 
right that we should injure in every possible way. Be 
brave and cunning in war, and defend your hunting- 
grounds from invaders. Never suffer your squaws or 
little ones to want. Protect the squaws and strangers 
from insult. Do not for any reason betray your friend. 
Resent insults. Revenge yourselves upon your enemies. 
Drink not the strong water of the white man. It is sent 
by the Bad Spirit to destroy the Indians. Fear not death. 
None but cowards fear to die. Obey and respect old peo- 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 29 

pie, especially your parents. Fear and conciliate the 
Bad Spirit, that he may do you no harm. Love and adore 
the Good Spirit, who made us all, who supplies our 
hunting grounds, who keeps us alive. ' ' 

After the sermon was finished, much good advice was 
given to all the young people of both sexes. They were 
told to respect the aged, and listen to their counsels; 
never to scoff at the deformed and blind; to be modest, 
charitable and hospitable; to obey their parents, and to 
love and fear the Great Spirit. At the end of every sen- 
tence the listeners cried ^'Ah! Ah!'' to show the speaker 
that they understood what was said. A prayer was then 
offered to the Great Spirit, thanking him for life, and for 
the food that was set before them. 

Their everyday food was sagamite, which was a soup 
made from pounded corn and smoked fish. But when 
they indulged in a feast, their food consisted of all kinds 
of game, baked squash, coarse cakes made from cracked 
corn, and succotash made of corn and beans. 

At certain seasons of the year, a feast was held to ap- 
pease the demon Death. At this feast the invited guests 
were expected to eat all that was set before them. To 
refuse was a grave offense, although the feasters might 
suffer afterwards from overeating. This feast consisted 
of four courses. First there was set before the guests a 
wooden bowl filled with a porridge made of Indian corn 
boiled in grease. The master of the ceremonies fed this 
mixture to the guests, each one in turn, with a large 
wooden spoon. The second course was a large wooden 
platter heaped with boiled fish, which the same person 
served to the guests, after carefully removing the bones 



30 



WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 



with his fingers, and blowing on the morsels to cool them. 
A large dog roasted a crisp brown was the next course, 
and a dish of fat buffalo meat ended the feast. It was 
followed by a pow-wow which included all sorts of fright- 
ful noises, made by beating on pieces of bark and skin 
drums, and by incantations and magic songs. It was be- 




INDIAN TOOLS. 

lieved that this pow-wow would frighten away the demon 
of disease, which they expected as the result of gluttony. 
The Burial Feast was held at intervals of six or eight 
years. It often happened that the Indian tribes were 
scattered, and their villages burned, when they were at 
war with each other, and they would lose sight for a time 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 31 

of the temporary burial places of their dead. But when 
the wars were ended, and they were again at peace with 
each other, the bodies of their friends and relatives were 
gathered together and brought to a common burial place. 
Some of these bodies had lain upon scaffolds for a num- 
ber of years, as was the custom of some of the tribes, and 
others had been buried in the ground. 

At the appointed time the Indians gathered in large 
numbers near one of these burial pits, which were always 
located on an elevation overlooking some favorite water- 
way. A dark night was chosen for the burial ceremonies, 
and the whole place was lighted by a circle of blazing fires 
around the pit. Certain men were appointed, who re- 
moved the coverings from the bodies and placed them in 
rows. These were surrounded by the friends and rela- 
tives, all joining in the burial pow-wow, shrieking, howl- 
ing and groaning for a specified time, then each tribe and 
family claimed its own dead. They wrapped the bodies 
in skins, adorned them with beads and feathers, and then 
placed them in the pit, where men stood with long poles 
arranging them in order, amid the dreary and discon- 
solate cries of the mourners. All sorts of gifts were 
placed near them, consisting of cooking utensils, weapons 
of warfare, wampum beads, pipes and pottery, and other 
articles which were considered necessary for their use in 
their journey to the happy hunting grounds. When all 
was finished, willing hands covered the precious remains 
from sight, heaping the earth until it arose in a huge 
mound over the spot. Some of these mounds are still in 
existence. 

A great feast was then prepared, all assisting in the 



32 WHEX MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

preparation. The food was cooked over the fires that 
circled the burial mound. During the feasting which fol- 
lowed, each feaster placed a generous allowance of his 
own food over that particular part of the mound where 
his own friends had been placed. Some of these burial 
pits were in the vicinity of Detroit and along the banks 
of the St. Clair river. 

MAPLE SUGAR 

When the crescent of the Sweetwater Moon appeared 
in the sky, all the Indians, both old and young, left their 
villages and went to the sugar camps, which were some- 
times a long distance away. Upon their arrival they 
tapped the trees and prepared the vessels to hold the 
sap. 

Some of the early writers tell us that the French were 
the first white people who made maple sugar, and that 
they learned how to make it from the Indian women. The 
sap was taken from the tree in a very rude and primitive 
manner. With their stone axes they cut a deep gash in 
the tree, and into it they thrust a chip or a stick. The 
sap followed the stick and dripped into the vessel which 
was placed at the root of the tree. Some of these vessels 
were made of birch bark, or of gourds, some were made 
of buffalo hide stretched over hoops, and some were 
wooden troughs, hollowed out by fire or the ax. The sap 
was poured into larger wooden troughs, and boiled until 
it became syrup, or sugar. 

The Indians boiled the sap in the same manner as 
they boiled their food. They dropped red hot stones in 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 33 

the large trough, and as soon as they were cooi, they took 
them out and replaced them with more hot ones, until the 
sap began to boil. They stirred it all the time with their 
long handled wooden spoons, until it became a thick 
syrup, and at last a fine, light colored granulated maple 
sugar. When they wished to make it into cakes, they 
turned it into wooden moulds, before it began to grain. 

The Indians were very fond of the maple sugar. They 
made a delicious sweetmeat by pounding parched corn, 
and boiling it into maple syrup, and then moulding it into 
little cakes. It was also a common article of merchandise. 
They packed large quantities in birch bark mokoks of 
varying sizes, which they sold to the whites in exchange 
for beads, trinkets, cloth and whiskey. 

One of their spring feasts and merrymakings was 
called the Sweetwater dance. This was held in the maple 
grove before they tapped the trees. It was a religious, 
as well as a social festival. Prayers were offered to the 
Great Spirit, asking for an abundant flow of sap and suc- 
cess in gathering and boiling it. 

SHINGEBIS AND KABEBONIKA 

Shingebis was a wild duck. He lived all alone in a 
little bark lodge on the shore of a great lake. 

It was winter. The weather was cold, and the ice had 
formed on the lake as far as he could see. He had but 
four logs of wood to keep himself warm, but as each log 
would burn a whole month, and as there were but four 
months before the warm spring days would come, he had 
no fear of suffering from the cold. Although the other 



34 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

ducks who lived along the shore were almost starved, he 
was never hungry. He went out each day and hunted for 
the spots where the flags and rushes grew through the 
ice. He would pull these up with his strong bill, throw 
them aside, and then through the openings which were 
left in the ice, he would dive down into the deep water in 
search of fish. He was a good fisher duck. He knew the 
haunts of the golden perch, the tender herring, and the 
clever bass, and every night he went home to his lodge, 
dragging a long string of fish behind him on the ice. 

And all this time, Kabebonika, the Spirit of the North 
Wind, was watching him. 

^^This is a wonderful being," he said. ^'I cannot 
understand him. He does not notice me at all. He is 
as happy and contented as if it was the moon of straw- 
berries, instead of the moon of sleeping water. I cannot 
allow this. He must bow to me. I will conquer him.'' 

And swiftly he flew back to his home in the far North- 
west and began his work. The wind came howling and 
shrieking across the lake, growing colder and colder each 
day, bringing with it great drifts of snow, until it was 
almost impossible to live in the open air. 

But Shingebis was not afraid of cold or hunger. When 
the wind howled down his chimney it blew his fire and 
made it burn all the brighter. And however cold the air 
might be he was still seen in the very worst weather hunt- 
ing for the flags and rushes that peeped above the snow- 
drifts on the ice. And every night he dragged a long 
string of fish to his lodge. 

At last Kabebonika became discouraged and angry. 
He was tired of working so hard and accomplishing 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 



35 



nothing*. He ordered all the Wind gods, great and small, 
back to their frigid haunts, and he said : 

"He will not notice me. I am no longer his friend, 
but his enemy. I shall go and visit him myself and dis- 
cover where his weakness lies, that I may conquer him.'' 

And that very night he went tramping over the snow 




CLAY rOTTERY FROM MOUNDS. 

to the fisher duck's lodge. He placed his ear close to the 
edge of the door and listened. 

Shingebis had cooked his supper and eaten it. He 
was in a very good humor and was lying on his side be- 
fore the fire singing his songs. He knew that Kabebo- 
nika was before his door because he felt his cold and 



36 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

freezing breath, but without a pause he kept on singing 
as if he were still alone : 

' ' Windy god, I know your plan, 
For you are but my fellow man. 

Blow you may your coldest breeze, 
Shingebis you cannot freeze. 

Sweep the strongest winds you can, 
Shingebis is still your man. 

Here's for life, and here's for bliss — 
Who so free as Shingebis." 

At last, when the song was finished, Kabebonika en- 
tered the lodge and took his seat near the fire opposite 
the happy fisher duck. But Shingebis did not notice him. 
He arose as if nobody was present, and pushed the 
blazing log with his poker until the sparks arose with the 
smoke, and the fire burned very fiercely. Then he sat 
down and went on with his singing. The lodge soon be- 
came so warm that the tears rolled down Kabebonika 's 
cheeks in streams and he said to himself : 

"I cannot stand this much longer. I shall melt and 
become water like the brooks in the warm springtime. I 
must go out into the cold air. " 

He was so prostrated with the heat when he rose to 
leave the lodge that he limped and shuffled along with 
his head bowed down, like a very old man. But he be- 
came strong again as soon as he closed the door of the 



THK PEKTOD OF DTSrOYEEY ^ 37 

lodge behind him. He roared and shrieked with disap- 
pointment and anger when he heard the happy voice of 
the contented fisher dnck still singing his cheerful songs. 
To revenge himself upon Shingebis, he went all along 
the shore and made the ice very thick where the flags and 
rushes grew, to prevent him from getting any more fish. 

But Shingebis was brave as well as strong. He sharp- 
ened his bill on the ice and worked a little longer and a 
little harder, each day, and so he still managed to pull 
up the flags and rushes and dive for the fish. And every 
night he dragged a long string over the ice and snow, ate 
his supper, and sang his songs before the warm fire, just 
as he did before Kabebonika visited him. 

When the Great Spirit of the North Wind saw that he 
could not conquer the happy fisher duck or make him dis- 
contented, he gave up the contest. 

' ' Some great Manitou more powerful than I am, must 
help him. I can neither freeze him nor starve him, I can 
only go away and leave him alone." 

And with a parting blast that nearly tore the little 
lodge from its fastenings, he went away, howling and 
screeching at a terrific rate, back to his home in the 
Northwest. 

INDIAN GAMES 

The Indians were very fond of playing games of 
chance. The early writers have described two of these 
games. One was called the Game of Straws. It was gen- 
erally played in the chief's cabin, or on the open ground 
in front of it. 



38 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

Little twigs, or strong straws were cut in short 
lengths, about two inches long. They were tied in 
bunches, each bunch containing an odd number, generally 
one hundred and one. With many contortions of the 
face and body, and many addresses to some favorite 
manitou, they were thoroughly shuffled. They were then 
divided into ten packages, with an awl made of a pointed 
bone. Then each one of the players drew a package, the 
one who drew the eleven straws being credited with a cer- 
tain number of points. The players, who sometimes 
numbered from fifty to eighty, were divided into two 
parties. The side that won the most points received the 
stakes. 

Another very popular game was played with plum 
stones, or wooden lozenges, which were painted black on 
one side and white on the other. These were placed in 
a wooden bowl. The bowl was then struck sharply on the 
ground, causing them to fly into the air, and then fall 
back again. Bets were made as to which color would 
have the largest showing. 

Sometimes one village challenged a neighboring one. 
The game was then played in one of the largest lodges. 
Strong poles were stretched on two sides of the lodge, 
elevated a short distance above the ground, on which the 
two contesting parties sat facing each other while the 
players struck the bowl on the ground between them. 
They sometimes grew much excited as the game pro- 
gressed and very reckless in their betting. They wagered 
all their most prized possessions, their bows and arrows, 
their wampum strings and belts, and their clothing. 
Sometimes in the coldest winter weather they would be- 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 39 

come so excited that they would wager their moccasins 
and leggings. And then the losers of the game would 
tramp home through the deep snow with bare feet, in the 
best of humors, laughing good naturedly at their ill luck. 

THE FIRE-FLY GAME 

It is customary to associate the Indians who once 
owned all this great continent, with tomahawks, scalping 
knives, and cruel tortures. But there is another picture 
of their life with which we are not so familiar. 

The first white visitors to the Lake-land region found 
the villages of the different tribes scattered along the bor- 
ders of the Great Lakes and the connecting rivers. Here 
the Indians lived, happy and contented, in their wigwams 
and lodges. The parents were very fond of their children. 
While the father roamed in the forest searching for game, 
or paddled his birch-bark canoe to his favorite fishing 
locality, in order to satisfy their hunger, the mother made 
garments of skins and furs to keep them warm. The 
shady forest and the sandy beach was their play ground. 
Here they danced the Corn dance and the mimic war 
dance, sang quaint songs, and played their favorite 
games. One of these games was called the Fire-fly game. 

When the hot summer evenings arrived, they would 
gather in front of their parents' lodges and amuse them- 
selves by singing and dancing until the little fire-flies 
lighted their tiny lamps and began to flicker among the 
rushes and tall grasses. Then there was a wild race to 
see who could catch the greatest number; when caught 
they imprisoned them in little covered gplint baskets. 



40 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

When they were tired of play they opened the baskets 
and released their prisoners. While they were playing, 
they sang the following song : 

^'Fire-fly! fire-fly ! bright little thing, 
Light me to bed, and a song I will sing. 

Give me your light, o'er the grass as you creep, 
Then I will cheerfully go to my sleep. 

Lend me your lamp as you fly o 'er my head. 
Bright little fire-fly — light me to bed. 

Come ! little fire-fly ; come ! little beast ; 
Come! and tomorrow I'll give you a feast„ 

Come ! little candle, that flies while I sing ; 
Bright little fairy bug ; night 's little king. 

Come ! and I'll dance as you guide me along; 
Come ! and I'll sing you a fairy bug song. ' ' 

THE INDIAN WAR DANCE 

An Indian war dance was an important feature of the 
many ceremonials indulged in by the native red men. 
One of the early writers gives a good account of a war 
dance which he witnessed at Council Blutfs, very early 
in the last century. It was a large gathering, many 
tribes who were friendly with each other being assembled 
together. A bountiful feast was provided for all. The 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 41 

warriors were decorated with war paint and feathers, and 
were dressed in their battle garments. A circle was 
formed by the dancers, and spectators. In the center of 
the circle was a tall post, firmly planted in the ground, 
around which were seated the singers, the drummers, and 
the other musicians. The instrumental music consisted of 
a gong made of a large keg, with skin stretched over one 
end. This was struck by a small stick, like a drum stick. 
Another instrument consisted of a strip of hard wood, 
notched like a saw. A small stick was rubbed forcibly 
across these notches, back and forth, producing a harsh 
grating sound. The vocalists kept good time with this 
rude music with their bodies and limbs as well as with 
their voices. When all was ready, the music and the 
dancing began. Three chiefs sprang to their feet and 
danced around for a few minutes, then at a signal from 
the master of ceremonies the music suddenly stopped and 
they returned to their seats uttering a loud noise, which 
by patting the mouth rapidly with the hand, was made to 
sound somewhat like the hurried barking of a dog. 

Then amid the profound silence, a warrior left the cir- 
cle and struck the post with his tomahawk. In a loud 
voice he begins the story of his great achievements, the 
battles he has fought, the prisoners he has captured, and 
the scalps he has taken. He points to his wounds and 
displays his trophies. In a vivid pantomime he fights 
again his battles, going through the attack, the advance, 
and the retreat, as it actually occurred. There is no ex- 
aggeration. It would be infamous for a warrior at such 
a time to boast of deeds that he never performed. If he 



42 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

did, some one in the circle would approach him and throw 
dirt in his face and say : 

"I do this to cover your shame, for the first enemy 
whom you meet will frighten you, so that you will run 
away and hide yourself. ' ' 

Shouts of applause accompany the narration of the 
warrior. At its conclusion, he takes his seat in the circle 
and the dancing goes on until another warrior goes 
through the same ceremony. At this particular war 
dance was one great chief who was boasting of stealing 
horses. He carried a whip in his hand and around his 
neck were strips of leather which were supposed to rep- 
resent bridles and halters. The ends were trailing on the 
ground behind him. He rode his tomahawk as children 
sometimes ride a broomstick, striking it with his whip as 
if it was a horse. The whole crowd shouted and laughed 
at his ridiculous appearance. 

The war dance was sometimes called the beggar ^s 
dance, as the performers expected liberal presents of 
tobacco, whiskey, and trinkets, in return for the enter- 
tainment afforded the audience. 

THE FACE OF THE MOON 

Long, long ago, in the very beginning of all things, 
there were two brothers named Good, and Evil, who 
helped to build this beautiful world. While Good caused 
useful and beautiful things to grow, such as forest's 
trees, nourishing fruits and vegetables, green grasses, 
shrubs, and flowers. Evil went about trying to spoil his 
brother's work wherever it was possible, by scattering 



44 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

seeds that would produce useless and poisonous weeds, 
and flowers, and vines. 

Whenever they met, they disputed and quarreled 
about it, but Evil still persisted in his wicked work. At 
last they decided to settle the matter by running a race. 
It was agreed that the winner, whichever one it might 
prove to be, should be allowed to continue his work, un- 
molested by the other. 

' But, ' ' said Good, ' ' you must first tell me what thing, 
great or small, living or dead, you fear most on all the 
earth. ' ' 

''Elk horns, '^ said Evil. ''And now you must tell me 
what thing you fear most on all the earth. ' ' 

"Indian grass braid,'' was the quick reply. 

When Evil heard this he was delighted. He ran to 
his grandmother, who made the grass braid, and begged 
her to give him a large quantity. Then he scattered it all 
along the path where Good was to run, and hung long 
tangles and loops on the branches of the trees overhead. 

But Good was not idle while Evil was at work. He 
hunted through the forest and gathered all the sharpest 
pointed elk horns that he could find, and then he scat- 
tered them over the path where Evil was to run. 

When they were both satisfied with their prepara- 
tions, they started out on the race. At first Evil took the 
lead. He dodged around among the elk horns, taking 
long flying leaps over the largest ones, and for a time it 
seemed certain that he would prove the winner. 

Good soon began to grow weary, but he snatched some 
of the grass braid from a limb overhead and ate it as he 
ran. This refreshed him very much and before night he 



THE PEl^IOD OF DISCOVERY 45 

was some distance m advance of his brother. Although 
Evil begged of him to stop he would not listen to his 
pleadings, but kept on running until he reached the goal. 
At last EviJ became so faint and weary that he could go 
no farther. He fell in the path and became unconscious. 
His brother ran back where he lay and beat him with one 
of the dreaded horns until he was dead. 

Good was very much pleased with his success, and 
without a suspicion that he had committed a wicked deed 
in killing his brother he returned to his grandmother and 
told her what he had done. Now Evil was her favorite 
grandson, and she was very angry w4ien she heard that 
Good had killed him. She told him to go away and leave 
liei* and ]icver show his face in her lodge again. Good 
loved his grandmother and was very sorry that he had 
offended her, but as she would have nothing more to do 
with him he left her and went on with his work with no 
one to oppose him. 

Wheu the world was all finished and there was no 
more work for him to do he went back again to visit his 
grandmother. But he found her in no better humor than 
when he left her. She had never forgiven him for killing 
her grandson, and she ordered him to leave her lodge. 

Upon hearing this, Good became very angry, and be- 
fore he fully realized just what he was doing, he grasped 
his poor old grandmother in his strong arms and threw 
her with all his might up into the sky. xVnd as 
she went flying through the blue space, she hit the moon 
with such force that she stuck to it, and there she has re- 
mained ever since. 

And now, when the skv is clear and the full moon is 



46 WHEX MICHIGAX WAS XEW 

shining brightly, yon can still see her angry, frightened 
face, with her long hair hanging over her square 
shoulders. 

THE TICK-E-NA-GUN 

The Tick-e-na-gun was the Indian cradle. It was 
made of three pieces of wood. The bottom was a thin 
board, a foot wide, and about three feet long. A band of 
hickory, shaved very thin, was fastened to the foot and 
extended along the two sides, tapering toward the head. 
A narrow strip, like the handle of a basket, formed an 
arch over the head and face. 'This was used to carry the 
cradle when the papoose was in it. All the parts were 
tied together with the dried sinews of the deer. 

The Indian mother took great pride in ornamenting 
her cradle for the little papoose. She padded it with 
moss or hair and covered it with soft deer skin embroid- 
ered and fringed with wampum beads and colored porcu- 
pine quills. 

The papoose was rolled tightly in a blanket, and 
bound to the cradle with bands of tanned deerskin. Only 
the head and neck were free, the hands and arms being 
fastened down with the bands. It was in this cradle that 
the Indian mother carried her papoose wherever she 
went. It hung on her back suspended from a band which 
was fastened across her forehead. 

From the arch or handle which passed over the little 
one's face and eyes was suspended the basket rattle, 
strings of colored beads, and other rude trinkets, for the 
amusement of the papoose: Sometimes, when the mother 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVEEY 47 

was busy, she stood the cradle on the end and allowed it 
to lean against the wigwam. Sometimes she hung it from 
the limb of a tree, to be swung by the wind or by some 
member of the family. • But when it was cold or stormy 
she brought it inside and hung it from the center pole of 
the wigwam, near the fire. 



AN INDIAN -LULLABY 

Swing high, swing low, my tawny papoose ; 

Swing with the breath of the breeze. 
Swing in thy hammock of birchen bark. 

Under the wildwood trees. 

Swing high, swing low. By the wigwam door, 

Thy mother is watching near. 
She 'broiders thy robe with porcupine quills, 

And hearkens, thy voice to hear. 

Swing high, swing low. Far out on the hills. 
Where the timid wild deer roam, 

Thy father hath sheathed his arrows and bow, 
And he bringeth the venison home. 

Swing high, swing low. In some leafy lair, 
A bear cub perchance he may see; 

Then a soft fur robe, with silvery tips, 
My papoose, he'll bring to thee. 



48 WHEN MICHIGAX WAS NEW 

Swing high, swing low. Hear the whippoorwill call 

His mate from her grassy bed. 
Hear the wild goose honk in the shadows dark, 

As he gnideth his flock overhead. 

Swing high, swing low. Hark ! the Night Man comes. 

He walketh adown the corn; 
His shadow is long, and his trail is black, 

And he walketh until the morn. 

Swing high, swing low, my tawny papoose ; 

Swing in thy birchen nest. 
Now the Night Man presses thy eyelids down. 

And good Manitou give thee rest. 



INDIAN NAMES 

It is a little more than one hundred and twenty-five 
years ago that we became a nation, and yet in that short 
time the native race of Red Men, who once roved where 
they pleased over all the country west of the Alleghany 
mountains, has disappeared. The only Indians now in 
existence in all that region are the poor remnants of the 
various tribes who are gathered from all parts of the 
country and herded together on the Western Reserva- 
tions. When these dwindle away there will be nothing 
left but recorded history and the names which they ap- 
plied to certain localities ages ago, to remind us that they 
have ever existed. Nearly every lake and stream, and 
hill and valley, received a name from these people, and 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 49 

all had a descriptive significance, which can be traced at 
the present time. 

Michigan comes from the Indian name Mich-sawg-ye- 
gan, which means the Lake country. 

Lake Erie is Lake Cat, the name of a wandering tribe 
of Indians that once roamed along the northern borders 
of Ohio nntil they were all destroyed by the Iroqi;ois. 

Lake St. Clair was called Otsi-Keta, the Blue Sea, and 
the river Otsi-Sippi, the Blue river. 

A'lgonac is the land of the Algonquins, a powerful 
tribe that once inhabited this region. 

Lake Huron was called Kareg-non-di, the Crooked 
Coast. The French called it La Mer Douce, Sweet water, 
in comparison with the salt water of the ocean. 

The Indians called Lake Michigan, Mich-i-go-nong, 
which means the Long Lake. They also called it Lake 
minis, for the tribe of Indians by that name that lived 
in the region. 

They called Mackinaw, Mich-ili-mack-i-nac, meaning 
a great turtle, from the Island which resembles a turtle 
in outline. The name also comes from the Chippewa 
word Mich-i-ne-mauk-i-nonk, meaning the place of the 
Giant Fairies, who were supposed to linger over the 
waters of that region. 

Several different names were applied to the site of 
Detroit by the Indians. A few have come down to us 
from the records of the early writers, with their meaning. 
Wa-we-a-tu-nong, a circuitous approach. Ka-ron-te-on, 
the Coast of the Strait. Yon-do-te-ga, a Great Village, 
and Teuscha Grondle, the name of the Indian village that 
stood on the site of Detroit when Cadillac arrived. 



50 WHEN MIGHIGAS" WAS XEW 

THE TIMID HARE and the CRUEL LYNX 

Once there was a little wliite Hare, who went every 
day to \dsit her grandmother, and carry her a fresh sprig 
of red clover for her dinner. 

One day when she was returning home she met a 
great, striped L;^tix, who stretched himself across her 
path and began to sing. "\Miile his voice was soft and 
sweet, his eyes shone like great balls of fire. As the little 
Hare conld not advance, there was nothing she could do 
but stand still and listen to his song. 

*0, my dear little White One, 

My pretty little White One. 

Will you tell me where you are going?" 

The poor little Hare was dreadfully frightened, and 
she ran back to her grandmother as fast as she could. 

^*0, Grandmother, Grandmother," cried the timid 
little creature, **I will tell you what the Lynx said to me," 
and she repeated the song. 

''0, Nosese, my Grandchild," said the Grandmother, 
^^ don't tremble so. Run back and tell him you are going 
to your native land." 

The Hare ran back to the place where the Lynx was 
lying, and began to sing the message that her Grand- 
mother had given her. 

^^Look yonder. See my shady home. 

To that pretty spot I roam. 

0, Golden Stripes, please let me go." 

All the time the Hare was singing, she was trembling 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 51 

with fear. But the Lynx did not move. He still gazed at 
her with his fiery eyes, and continued his own song. 

'^Little White One, tell me why, 
Like soft leather, thin and dry, 
Are your pretty ears ? ' ' 

^^'Tswee! Tswee! Tswee!'' shrieked the little Hare, 
and again she ran back to her Grandmother, and repeated 
the words of the song. 

^^Go, Nosese,'' replied the Grandmother, ''and tell 
him that your Uncles fixed your ears when they came up 
from the Southland, and lined them with pink. ' ' 

The little White Hare was growing more and more 
frightened all the time, but she obeyed her Grandmother, 
and ran slowly along the path, and began to sing : 

**When from the South my Uncles came, 
They brought these pretty ears to me, 
And lined them both with pink. ' ' 

And then the Hare laid her long ears back on her 
shoulders, and was about to run along to her home, when 
the Lynx arose lazily to his feet, and began again to sing 
in a coaxing, purring tone : 

'^Why do you go away, 

Pretty White One! Can't you stay? 

Tell me why your little feet 

Are so very dry and fleet?" 

** Tswee! Tswee! Tswee!" and again the terrified 
Hare ran back to the Grandmother with her story. But 
byr this time the Grandmother was growing tired of hear- 



52 WHEX MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

ing the complaints. It was time for her afternoon nap. 
She was smoking her pipe, and she was sleepy and cross. 

^'0, Nosese,'^ she said. ^'Do not mind him, nor talk 
to him, bnt rnn away home as fast as yon can." 

The Hare obeyed, and ran away as fast as she could. 
When she came to the spot where the Lynx had been, he 
was not there. She looked all around but she could not 
see him. This made her feel very happy and she ran 
swiftly toward her home. 

But the cunning Lynx knew where she was going, and 
he had raced across the prairie, to reach the place before 
she did, that he might waylay her when she came down 
the path. The happy little Hare galloped along, singing 
softly to herself as she thought of her mother, who was 
waiting for her in the leafy hedge. 

But alas ! when she was very near her home, the cruel 
Lynx sprang out of a dark thicket and caught her by her 
pretty pink ears. She was too frightened to struggle or 
make a noise and so he carried her to his home and ate 
her for his supper. 

INDIAN TRAMPS 

After the wars were ended, and the people of the Bor- 
derland region had settled down to a peaceful quiet life, 
there still remained several roving bands of Indians who 
had no homes. Their villages had all been destroyed or 
abandoned and no government reservations had yet been 
provided for them. They carried all their property with 
them wherever they went and planted their wigwam cen- 
ter poles wherever they pleased, generally on some 



THE PEEIOD OF DISCOVERY 53 

sheltered elevation overlooking the water. Where they 
came from or where they went was always a mystery to 
the Borderland residents. 

Their visits were always unexpected. They would 
enter the house without an invitation and stand silent and 
motionless in the center of the room. The men wore 
huge rings of brass hanging from their ears and noses. 
They would stand a short distance in advance of the 
others, haughty and erect, with their long, coarse black 
hair spread around their shoulders. Their only burden 
consisted of a rifle and ammunition and sometimes a bow 
and arrows. 

Behind them, bending under the heavy burdens which 
they carried on their backs, were the women. Some with 
the few cooking utensils, and the wigwam wrapped 
around the center i^ole, some with great bundles of 
baskets, corn husk mats, and splint brooms, and others 
with the black eyed papooses seated in the blankets which 
were drawn tightly across the back and loosened at the 
shoulders, thus forming a comfortable seat, with th^ 
mother hands holding the four corners in front. 

With their customary salutation, ^M)oo-joo," they 
would lower their bundles to the floor, and offer their 
manufactured goods in exchange for provisions. M<any 
a clever bargain was made by these old time red peddlers, 
in their dealings with the whites. The settlers had not 
forgotten their experiences in the stormy past, and often 
yielded their just rights rather than arouse the enmity 
of their old time foes. When they made their appearance 
near the close of the day, they never hesitated to ask for 
a night's lodging. They were seldom refused and bed 



54 



WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 



time found them well wrapped in their blankets, stretched 
out on the kitchen floor with their feet to the fire. A gen- 
erous supply of logs was always heaped on the andirons 
in the great open fireplace to keep them warm. Their 
departure was as silent and mysterious as their arrival. 
Not a sign of them would be seen when the family awoke 
in the morning. 

OLD MOTHER RODD 




Old Mothek Rodd was 
an interesting historical 
character, who once 
lived in the Borderland 
region. She was an In- 
dian woman belonging 
to the Chippewa tribe. 
She was born in the lat- 
ter part of the eigh- 
teenth century, and 
died in Port Huron, at 
the age of one hundred 
and thirteen years. 
During the later years 
of her life her home 
was on the Canadian 
side of the St. Clair 
river, near the mouth 
of Lake Huron. Some 
of her descendants are 



still living at the same place. 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 55 

Old Mother Eodd was a familiar figure to all the resi- 
dents along the shores of the St. Clair river and of the 
islands surrounded by its waters. The writer has a dis- 
tinct recollection of her figure and dress as she appeared 
between fifty and sixty years ago. She was short and 
stout. On her broad, flat feet she wore deerskin mocca- 
sins decorated with painted porcupine quills and colored 
beads. Tied just below the knees were the leggins of 
heavy black broadcloth embroidered with beads. These 
reached to the ankles, and were wide enough to allow a 
flapping, swinging movement when she walked. The nar- 
row skirt of the same material, which reached just below 
the knee, was also elaborately embroidered and fringed 
with beads. Overlapping this skirt for a short distance 
below the waist line was a sort of blouse or ^ ^ short gown, ' ' 
as the residents called it, which was made of large fig- 
ured, gaudy colored calico. This combination of waist 
and skirt was also worn by many of the white women, and 
was called ' ^ short gown and petticoat. ' ' 

Old Mother Eodd was fond of ornaments. Around 
her neck were many strings of beads of all shapes, colors 
and sizes, hanging down in long loops over the front of 
the short gown. Outside of all these ornaments and gar- 
ments was the heavy woolen blanket. This she wore 
spread out to its full size. It covered her head and 
reached to her moccasins. She held it together in front 
with her large strong hands. Her swarthy face was 
large and nearly square, with black eyes glittering be- 
tween the half closed lids, and the high cheek bones char- 
acteristic of the race. Her long, coarse, black hair was 
plaited in one thick braid which hung down her back. 



56 WHEN MICHIGAX WAS NEW 

So light and stealthy were her footsteps that her 
coming was always a surprise. The first announcement 
of her ax)proach was the sound of her voice as she en- 
tered the kitchen door with her bundle of baskets on her 
back, held in place by a band of bark across her forehead. 
Her baskets were always superior to those made by the 
other Indians, in the fine weaving, as well as in the design 
and coloring and she always found ready customers who 
were willing to exchange a piece of ''quash-e-gun," 
bread, or *^ko-koosh/' pork, or a milk pan full of ^'nip- 
po-nin/' flour, for a pretty dinner or work basket, or a 
three story knife and fork, and spoon basket to hang on 
the wall. 

Old Mother Rodd had many favorite camping places 
along the river. One of these was in an old French 
orchard under a low, spreading apple tree that grew near 
the shore. The children of the neighborhood were 
always delighted when they heard the welcome news : 

*'01d Mother Eodd has come. She is camped in the 
orchard. ' * 

All hurried to the spot, dodging among the old apple 
trees, slipping and sliding on the apples beneath, as they 
raced dowm the hill that sloped to the river, for this old 
Indian woman was a great favorite with these pioneer 
children. 

The wigwam was built around a center pole driven 
into the ground, and covered with old blankets and pieces 
of bark and buckskin, which were fastened to the top of 
the pole, and spread out to form a tent large enough for 
the large family. In front of this on the clean white sand 
was their fire. The food was cooked in a highly polished 



THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY 



57 



brass kettle that was suspended from a stick over the 
fire. Old Mother Rodd was scrupulously clean as well 
as generous, and always shared her meal with her young 
visitors. And in their later life nothing ever tasted quite 




BRASS KETTLES USED BY MOTHER RODD 

as good as that delicious succotash cooked in the brass 
kettle, served in shining tin cups, and eaten with wooden 
spoons. 

The family canoes, rising and falling on the tiny river 
swells, were fastened to a stake driven into the sand. 
Just a peep into the wigwam was all that was allowed 
the children. Hanging from the pole in the center was 
the bark hammock, in which the little copper colored 



58 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

papoose rolled in a blanket, was fastened with strips of 
tanned deerskin. Sometimes it was hung from a limb of 
the apple tree, and left there to be rocked by the breeze. 
A short distance back from the river, under one of the 
largest apple trees, was a little mound which marked 
the last resting place of another papoose whose spirit 
had roamed the happy hunting grounds for many years. 
With the opening of the apple blossoms each year Old 
Mother Rodd made her appearance and held what was 
called an '^ Indian pow-wow," over that little grave, 
chanting songs, and indulging freely in ' ^ Santa-waba, ' ' 
the Indian fire-water. Two or three days were spent in 
this manner,^ until her voice became too weak to sing and 
the fire-water was all gone, when she would cover the 
grave with maple sugar and other Indian food and leave 
it until the apple blossoms came again. 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 



MISSIONAEIES and FUR TRADERS 
1610 

Michigan was visited by white men several years be- 
fore the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. 

Two French missionaries joined a party of Huron 
Indians at Quebec and traveled westward by way of the 
Ottawa river and Georgian bay, until they reached the 
shore of Lake Huron. Here they built a rude, bark- 
covered hut for a place of worship and hung a small bell 
from the center pole. This was rung daily to call the 
natives together for instruction and prayer. The hut 
was so small that it was filled and emptied several times 
each day. 

For several years the tide of travel followed the same 
route as that taken by these pioneer missionaries. Al- 
though the brave voyageurs were forced to make many 
portages between the navigable waters, their bark canoes 
were so light that it was an easy task to carry them on 
their shoulders. As all the first explorers, fur traders 
and missionaries followed this route, trading posts and 
mission houses were established in the northern part of 
the state, long before there was any settlement at Detroit. 

'The first missionaries who were sent over from France 

59 



60 WHEX MICHIGAX WAS XEW 

to teach the Indians were a brave, unselfish class of men 
and were very much in earnest in their work. They en- 
dured many privations and hardships, and in some cases 
they suffered torture and even death, by the hands of 
some of the more savage tribes. At first they lived the 
simple lives of the natives, sharing their food at the 
camp fires and sleeping in their wigwams, until the regu- 
lar mission houses were established. 

Following closely in the footsteps of the missionaries 
came the fur traders, who built their trading posts and 
rude forts near the mission houses. And here came the 
hunters, trappers, and voyageurs, who were in the em- 
ploy of the fur traders. These men braved dangers and 
endured hardships such as no other class of men in our 
country have ever known. They were slaves to the 
agents of the fur companies and were powerless in their 
hands. They were not permitted to carry a gun lest the 
furs be injured by powder and ball. They were forced 
to take long and dangerous journeys with no weapon of 
defense against wild beasts and wilder Indians, but a 
knife and small hatchet. 

These fearless navigators, who were called '^coureurs- 
des-bois," or rangers of the wood, glided over the waters 
in their clumsy flat bottomed bateaux, camping at night 
on the shores. They were a wild looking lot of men, with 
flashing eyes and swarthy faces. They were hardy and 
enduring, with muscles that never tired. They had 
acquired the habits and superstitions of their savage 
associates and wore the dress of their Indian and French 
ancestors. They decorated their hair with eagle feathers 
and daubed their faces with vermilion and soot. Their 



EAELY HISTORY OF DETROIT 61 

red flannel shirts were open at the neck to give their 
muscles full play and were belted at the waist with a 
gaudy woolen sash fringed with horse hair. They wore 
buckskin shoepacs and a bright colored skull cap with a 
long tasseled point hanging at one side. 

Their minds were filled with the superstitious beliefs 
of the natives. They whistled through the wing bone of 
an eagle to drive away the thunder and they threw 
tobacco into the water to quiet the waves. They carried 
the tails of rattlesnakes in their bullet pouches to protect 
them from evil spirits and they were guided in all im 
portant undertakings by their dreams. 

Their food while on their journeys was hulled corn 
and deer or bear fat. Their rations were one quart of 
corn, and one ounce of fat per day. At first all the corn 
came from Quebec, but later it was prepared and sold in 
Detroit. It was hulled and boiled, and then mixed with 
the fat. It was then moulded into cakes, and packed in 
bark boxes, each cake containing the proper amount for 
a day's rations. 

The expeditions were managed by an agent, who led 
the voyageurs in all their journeys. He traveled in a 
light canoe with a full crew of paddlers. Each morning 
he would appoint a camping place where they were all 
expected to meet at the close of the day's work, and then 
he would give the command to start. The heavily laden 
bateaux would often be until midnight in reaching the 
camp. There they would find their leader fast asleep be- 
side a comfortable fire. After hastily swallowing their 
scanty rations they were allowed a short time for rest 
and sleep. Long before dawn they were aroused by their 



62 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

leader and started out on another day's journey. Their 
allowance of corn and fat was placed on the seat by their 
side and their breakfast was eaten while they rowed. 

'Their spirits rose as they neared their journey's end; 
they looked forward to this with much pleasure, as it 
Would bring to them a well earned rest beside a scanty 
reward for their long days and nights of weary toil. As 
they glided along with the swift current their labor was 
lightened by their songs, which are still known as the 
Canadian boat songs. They rang out in a plaintive 
chorus over the water as they approached the post, the 
stroke of their paddles keeping time with the music. 

And now the little trading post and mission house 
were for a time the scene of bustle and traffic, dissipation 
and enormous profits. The Indians, who had finished 
hunting at this season of the year, followed the traders, 
both to enjoy themselves along the Borderland and to 
share in the unusual feasting that prevailed on such occa- 
sions. After the long period of labor and hardships, the 
voyageurs were inclined to celebrate their freedom, and 
their hard earned dollars soon found their way into the 
post agent's barrel of silver, in exchange for the ^'Eng- 
lish milk," as they called the imported rum. 

LA SALLE AND THE GRIFFON 

1679 

Robert Cavalier, better known as La Salle, was the 
son of a wealthy merchant in France. He was a mere 
lad when he came to this new world to seek his fortune. 
Soon after his arrival, he began to study the Indian Ian- 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 63 

giiage. In less than three years he could converse readily 
with most of the tribes. From them he heard wonderful 
tales of a vast country in the distant west. They told him 
of large bodies of fresh water, and of a mighty river 
which rose in the north and flowed southward. 




THE GRIFFON 

He became much interested in these reports, and at 
last decided to undertake a voyage of discovery, and 
learn from observation how much truth there was in 
what he had been told. With the consent of the Governor 
of New France, he began to make plans for his journey. 
He bought canoes and supplies and hired several men to 
accompany him. After many mishaps and long delays 
he reached Lake Erie, passed through the Detroit river 
and followed the unknown shores of Lake Huron into the 



64 WHEX MICHIGAX AVAS XEW 

Straits of Mackinaw, passing Mackinaw Island and 
then on down the western shore of our State. Although 
this expedition resulted in the discovery of the Ohio 
river it did not satisfy his ambition. 

As soon as possible he sailed to France to report his 
discoveries to the King. He gave such glowing accounts 
of the new world that he was given a commission to make 
discoveries, build forts, and engage in the trade in buf- 
falo skins, all at his own expense. He had very little 
money but his wealthy relatives came to his aid, and he 
was given large sums to promote his work. In order to 
carry out his plans with safety and profit he decided that 
it would be necessary to build a boat much larger and 
stronger than the clumsy dugouts, and canoes that were 
made and used by the Indians. A boat suitable in size 
and construction for the accommodation of himself and 
his companions and also for the storing of the blankets, 
bales of cloth, knives and beads, and other trinkets that 
he would need for his traffic with the Indians. He also 
decided to build a fort at the mouth of the Niagara river, 
as this was the entrance to the four Great Lakes over 
which he expected to control the fur trade. 

He engaged many men, sailors, carpenters, and labor- 
ers. He bought tools and materials for the construction 
of his boat and the necessary merchandise for trading 
with the Indians. But this enterprise proved an unfor- 
tunate one. The boat containing his supplies was 
wrecked in a storm and all his provisions and merchan- 
dise were lost. This was very discouraging, but as 
LaSalle had managed to save his tools and the materials 
for his boat, he would not give up his plans. 



EAKLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 65 

The spot chosen for the building of the boat, was on 
the high bank of the Niagara river, a few miles 
above the falls, where a fine large grove of oaks furnish- 
ed the timber for its construction. Trees were felled, the 
place was cleared, and the master carpenter set the ship 
builders to work. Two Indian hunters who were friendl}^ 
to the whites, built bark wigwams for the men. The wild 
savages loitered around the place, sullen and ugly. They 
were displeased with the work that was going on and were 
determined to stop it if possible. When they saw the 
ribs in place they threatened to burn the boat. But the 
men, although weak and hungry from the loss of their 
provisions, kept a constant watch night and day. 

All through the long and dreary winter and far into 
the summer this little band of workmen chopped and 
hewed and sawed the great forest trees into shape. Their 
tools were rude, and at times their food was scanty, es- 
pecially when they found themselves reduced to a diet of 
parched corn and water, which was often the case. 
Sometimes the surly Indians refused to sell them the corn 
to parch and then they were hungry in earnest, but when 
the two friendly Indian hunters came to their camp, they 
were sure of a feast of fish and game, with maple sugar 
and other wild luxuries. 

At last LaSalle decided to go back to the Fort for 
more supplies and ])ro visions. Two men accompanied 
him, and a dog drew his baggage on a sledge, through 
the deep snow in the forest, and over the ice covered lake. 
They had nothing but parched corn for food, and this 
gave out before they reached the Fort. During his ab- 
sence the vessel was finished ready for launching. All 



66 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

the material used in tlie construction of the boat, the 
spikes, and chains, and anchors, and even the little can- 
nons were carried up the steep embankment from the level 
of the river. In shape and size, the little ship was some- 
what like the one that brought Columbus and his party 
of discoverers to this continent nearly two hundred years 
before. There was a high stern and a higher bow on 
which was perched the figure head which gave the boat its 
name. This figure head, the work of a French wood carv- 
er, was the image of a griffon, a hideous monster with 
the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. 
It had huge bulging eyes which stared straight ahead. 

AVhen everything was ready for the launching, the 
props were removed and amid the chanting of solemn 
music by the Jesuit missionaries, the firing of the can- 
non,* and the glad shouts of the voyagers, the Griffon 
sailed down the sloping ways into the water. She was 
towed out into the stream by the canoes, and anchored. 
They boarded her, swung their hammocks and slept in 
peace, safe at last from the firebrand of the savage, and 
beyond the reach of the flying tomahawk. The Indians 
gazed at this monstrous canoe in speechless wonder. 
They were amazed and terrified at the flash and roar of 
the cannon from her deck, and at the horrible figure 
upon her bOw. 

After a few trial trips along the shore, LaSalle 
mounted the high stern as commander, and gave the or- 
der to start. The great square sails were unfurled, the 
anchor hoisted amid the jolly ^'heave-yo" of the sailors, 
and they began their eventful voyage over the unknown 
waters. As thev drew near the mouth of the Detroit 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 67 

river, they were charmed with the heautiful islands that 
guard its entrance. Father Hennepin, one of the mis- 
sionaries who accompanied La Salle, has told us some- 
thing about them in his journal. He says : — 

"The islands are the finest in the world. They are 
covered with forests of nut and fruit trees, and with 
wild vines loaded with grapes. From these we made a 
large quantity of wine. The banks of the Strait (Detroit 
River), are vast meadows, and the prospect is terminated 
with some hills covered with vineyards, trees bearing 
good fruit, and groves and forests so well arranged that 
one would think that Nature alone could not have laid 
out the grounds so eiTectively without the help of man, 
so charming was the prospect. 

''The country is well stocked with stags, wild goats, 
and bears, all of which furnish excellent food, and they 
are not at all fierce as in other countries. There are 
herds of buffaloes that trample down the flowers and 
grass as they rush around in their clumsy motion. There 
are great numbers of moose and elk, which in the size of 
their horns almost rival the branches of the great trees. 
Turkey cocks and swans are very common and pigeons 
sweep along like clouds overhead. 

''The groves and forests are chiefly made up of wal- 
nut, chestnut, plum, and cherry trees, all loaded with 
vines and their own fruit." 

The Griffon sailed up the Detroit river, and past the 
site of Michigan's present metropolis. Here they found 
the little Indian village, called Teuscha Grondie, which 
stood between the black forest and the river's sandy 
beach. The firing of a srJute from the canon fright- 



GS WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

ened tlie poor Indians, and caused them to flee from their 
homes, and seek refuge in the forest. 

At last the little ship reached Swan Island, which was 
the Indian name for Belle Isle, and passed out into the 
cup-shaped lake, which the Indians called Otsi-Keta. It 
was their custom to give a name to each one of their dis- 
coveries, as they advanced. This day chanced to be the 
feast day of one of their patron saints, Ste Claire. When 
they were well out in the middle of the lake, they broke a 
bottle of the native wine over the Griffon's head, and 
christened the body of water, Lac Ste Claire. 

We can imagine their emotions of surprise and uncer- 
tainty as they glided over the strange waters, tacking 
back and forth, to catch the full force of the shifting- 
breeze. Away in the distance on either side, low misty 
lines stretched along the horizon. When they reached 
the region of the watery meadows which we know as the 
St. Claire Flats the tall rushes brushed the sides of the 
new comer, and bowed and nodded a friendly welcome. 
The waterfowl arose from their haunts in such numbers 
that they darkened the sun. They squawked and 
screeched with fear and anger as this huge monster with 
outspread wings passed by them. Never before had they 
been disturbed in their peaceful possession of this water 
prairie. Although this region was the favorite hunting 
ground of the Indian brave the dip of his paddle was so 
light and the flight of his arrow so silent and swift as he 
went in and out among the rushes in his slender birch 
bark canoe that they were not disturbed and scarcely 
noticed him. 

Leaving this wilderness of green behind them, they 



EAKLY HISTOIJY OF DETROIT 60 

found a passage l)etweon some of the beautiful islands 
that divide the water and form the delta of the river. 
From many a shady nook along the shores fierce, flashing 
eyes peered out and strong copper-colored fingers held 
the bow strings taut and the arrows ready for use. But 
the thought that this terrible monster might prove to be 
some powerful Manitou restrained them and the boat 
passed on unmolested. And now they met the current of 
another river which the natives called the Otsi-Sippi, but 
which we know as the St. Clair. As they advanced the 
banks grew higher. Tiny wreaths of smoke floated from 
the topmost points of the skin and bark covered wig- 
wams, where the Indian villages nestled among the oak 
openings. Fields of Indian corn waved their long silken 
tassels in the breeze. Clumsy bison and huge black 
bear wallowed in the muck where the inland streams en- 
tered the river and timid deer scampered down their run- 
ways. 

The current grew stronger as they neared the head 
of the river, and the foaming water as it came pouring 
out of the mouth of the Great Lake, checked their speed. 
Ever}^ thread of canvas in each of the little queer-shaped 
sails was spread and all the nautical skill possessed by 
the amateur crew was necessary to guide the awkward 
craft up the incline. Fortunately a friendly breeze from 
the south came to their relief, and amid the creaking 
of ropes, the rattling of chains, and the ^^ heave yos'^ of 
the boatmen, they passed out into the blue Gi tehee Gumee 
in safety. 

They were overtaken by a terrific storm at the mouth 
of Saginaw bay, and nearly wrecked, but after the wind 



70 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

ceased to blow they went on without further mishap until 
they reached the Straits of Mackinaw. Here they found 
a great multitude of Indians awaiting them. From here 
LaSalle went to Green Bay, where the trade was so brisk 
that in a very short time all his goods, blankets, cloth and 
trinkets, were exchanged for valuable furs. These were 
packed away in the boat and she started on the return 
trip for a fresh supply of goods. 

LaSalle and the missionaries remained at Mackinaw 
awaiting her return. But they waited in vain. Her fate 
has always been an unsolved mystery. From the time 
that she passed out of their sight with her brave crew, and 
her cargo of furs, she has never been seen. Whether she 
was captured by the Indians and burned or was wrecked 
in a storm will never be known. Thus ends the story of 
the Griffon, the first sail vessel that passed over the wa- 
ters of the Great Lakes, more than two hundred years 
ago. 

THE MANITOU OF BELLE ISLE 

History has preserved to us the names of the first two 
white men who visited the spot where now stands the city 
of Detroit. They were two French missionaries, M. Dol- 
lier and M. Galinee. It was in the spring of 1670 that 
they reached this place. They were enchanted with the 
beautiful scenery. In all their journeys they had seen 
nothing that was so pleasing. The tall forest trees were 
robed in the varied shades of green. The air was filled 
with the perfume of flowers and the music of birds. 
Thousands of fish could be seen in the clear waters of the 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 71 

river, while along the banks were herds of buffalo and 
droves of deer gazing curiously at the strangers. 

IMiej' wandered around for some time, until they came 
to an open space, in the center of which was a large 
grassy mound. In the center of this was a large gray 
stone in shape somewhat like the human form. To make 
the likeness more complete the Indians had daubed it 
with colored clays. Scattered around it on the ground 
were their offerings of tobacco, maple sugar, and all sorts 
of cooked food. 

This was the Great Manitou, of whom their guides 
had told them. He was held in great veneration and awe 
by the superstitious Indians. They believed it was his 
voice they heard when the wild wn'nds swept over the 
waters. That he held the wind in his strong hands and 
caused it to blow or not to blow as he saw fit. When 
about to start on a long journey they brought their offer- 
ings, and appealed to him for protection before they 
launched their canoes. 

The missionaries were very indignant when they saw 
this idol and no doubt imagined they were doing good 
work when they seized an ax and broke it into a thousand 
pieces. In its place they planted a tall wooden cross, 
placing at its foot the coat of arms of France and an in- 
scription giving their names and the object of their mis- 
sion. They then fastened two of their canoes together, 
and taking the largest pieces of the broken idol, they 
carried them out and sank them in the deepest part of 
the river, opposite Belle Isle. 

An Indian legend tells us that after the missionaries 
had departed, and were a long distance on their journey, 



72 WHEI^ MICHIGAX WAS NEW 

a party of Indians came to place their offerings at the 
feet of the idol. But when they reached the grassy 
mound they found only a few pieces of stone scattered 
around on the ground. Each one took a fragment of the 
idol and placed it in his canoe, while a deep clear voice 
floated over the water and guided them to the spot where 
the spirit of the Manitou had taken refuge under the 
long shadow of Belle Isle. The voice told them to hring 
every fragment of the broken image, and to strew them 
all along the banks of the island which would forever 
after be his home. 

As soon as they had obeyed his order each stone was 
changed into a rattle snake, and placed as a sentinel to 
guard the Manitou 's retreat from the profane foot of the 
white man. 

MICH-ILI-MACK-INAC 

The most northern point of the southern Peninsula 
of Michigan, and the island near it, were given their 
names by the Bed men long before the white man knew 
anything about tbe place. The name is from the Indian 
word., Mishi-maikin-nac, which means a swimming tor- 
toise, or turtle. Both the Island and the elevated point of 
the main land, when seen from a distance on the water, 
resemble a turtle in outline. The Indians also called 
this region ^ ' Pe-quod-e-non-ge, " which means the home 
of the fishes. 

There are many interesting legends connected with 
this locality. The Bed men believed that it was the home 
of Gitchi-Manitou, the Great Spirit, and all the other 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT n 

manitons that controlled the waters of the Great Lakes 
and the storms that swept over them. The Indian Hia- 
watha, whose real name was Mena-Bosho, was born on 
Mackinaw Island. It was here that he saw a spider 
weaving a web to catch flies, and from this he gained the 
idea of weaving nets to catch fish. 

Mackinaw and its vicinity is perhnps the oldest per- 
manent settlement along the Borderland. More than one 
hundred and fifty years before Detroit was founded there 
were missionaries and fur traders in this region. It was 
the principal point for the arrival and departure of all 
who were engaged in the fur trade. Most of the perma- 
nent inhabitants were either canoe men, or hunters and 
trappers. It was from here that they all started for their 
different destinations, some on foot through the trackless 
inland forests, and some in canoes which would carry 
them to the distant border posts. And it was to tliis place 
that they returned after an absence of a year or more, 
bringing their collections of furs and skins. After these 
were sorted and cured they were taken to Montreal by 
the voyageurs in their bateaux. 

Later the trade became of so much more importance 
that a trading post was established here and the furs 
were exchanged for cloths, trinkets and general sup- 
plies, which included large quantities of rum. Within 
a few years after this soldiers were sent to protect the 
inhabitants from the attacks of the Indians and then 
Mackinaw became a military trading post with the mis- 
sion house attached. It stood near the water, and was 
enclosed by a high, strong palisade, made of broad oak 
pickets, pointed at both ends, and driven firmly into the 



74 WHEN MICHIGAN AYAS NEW 

ground. Within this enclosure were ine log cabin homes 
of the residents, the barracks for the soldiers, and the 
store houses, where the furs were exchanged for the trad- 
ers' supplies. These buildings all faced a small square 
in the center. 

. The business flourished, and the population increased, 
until Mackinaw became the most important of all the 
trading posts and missions in the North West. At cer- 
tain times six or seven thousand Indians would be camp- 
ed around the Fort. Besides these there were the inhabi- 
tants of the village, which contained about sixty houses, 
the two hundred soldiers in the Fort, the priests at the 
mission house, the fur traders, and the voyageurs and 
coureurs-du-bois. The place as a military post, was first 
occupied by the French, then by the English, and lastly 
by the Americans. 

The Island has many remarkable rock formations. 
The celebrated Arch Eock stands at the water's edge, one 
hundred and forty feet high, and appears as if hanging in 
the air. From its peculiar shape it has been called the 
Natural Bridge of Mackinaw. Another curious rock is 
the Sugar Loaf, which is conical in shape and nearly one 
hundred and fifty feet high. 

The Indians believed that this Island was the favorite 
resting place of Mich-a-bow, the Manitou of all the wa- 
ters, and that when he came over the water from the sun- 
rise in the east, he stopped at the foot of Arch Rock, 
which they called the Manitou 's landing place. They be- 
lieved that the great arch was his gateway and that he 
passed through this and ascended the hill to Sugar Loaf, 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 75 

which was his lodge, the cave on the west side of the 
Island being his doorway. 

In the early days there was no way of traveling, 
on the Island excepting on foot in the summer, or on snow 
shoes or sledges drawn by dogs, in winter. For this rea- 
son there were only Indian trails and foot paths, as there 
was no necessity for roads or streets. 

The few houses of the village were built of logs and 
roofed with bark. They were all whitewashed, which 
gave the place a very neat appearance. Each house had 
a garden which was enclosed with cedar pickets. 

The summers were short but warm and pleasant, 
while the winters were long, cold, and stormy. The older 
people had few amusements at this time but the children 
had great sport in coasting down the steep hills on their 
bark toboggans and in making play houses under the 
deep snow drifts. 

THE ISLAND FAIRIES 

Once there was an Indian who had ten beautiful 
daughters. The youngest and most beautiful of all was 
Oweena, a shy little maiden who loved to roam among the 
trees, and visit the fur and feather-lined homeg of the 
timid forest creatures, that were hidden among the green 
leaves and in the hollow tree trunks. 

One after another her older sisters were married and 
went to live in the lodges of their husbands, until at last 
she was left all alone to live with her father and mother. 
But after one year had passed she was married too. 

Her husband was an old man whose name was Osseo. 



76 WHEI^ MICHIGAX WAS XEW 

His back was crooked, his face wrinkled, lie was lame, 
and besides all this lie was very poor. But when her sis- 
ters made sport of him, she smiled sweetly, and said to 
them : — 

^ ' Do not langli at him. Sometime you will know why 
I chose him, rather than a younger and stronger person." 

Soon after she was married all the sisters and their 
husbands, and parents were invited to a feast. As they 
walked along together they felt very sorry for the beauti- 
ful young sister when they saw her leading her lame hus- 
band where the path was the smoothest and helping him 
over the fallen trees and the narrow brooks. His eyes 
were turned toward the sky as he stumbled along, and he 
talked to himself. 

^^Poor old man,'' said one of the sisters, ''What a 
pity he does not fall and break his neck. '' 

Just at this moment they came to a large hollow log 
lying on the ground with one end turned toward the path. 
The old man stopped, and gave a loud cry, and then 
rushed into one end of the log, and the next instant he 
came out of the other, a tall, straight young man, as 
nimble and as spry as a deer. 

But upon turning around to look at his young wife, 
behold she had been changed into an old woman bent al- 
most double, walking with a cane The young husband 
took her by the hand, and led her carefully along, at the 
same time calling her by a pet name, ''Ne-ne-moosh-ah," 
which means, my sweetheart. 

All were happy at the feast excepting Osseo, who felt 
very sad when he looked at his wife. He raised his eyes 
toward the sky, and whispered softly, and soon voices 



EARLY HISTOKY OF DETROIT 77 

were heard, which gradually sounded nearer, and nearer. 
To the feasters it was beautiful music or the singing of 
birds. 

Soon the lodge began to sway, and shake from side to 
side, and then they felt it rising in the air. It was too 
late to run out, as they were already as high as the tree 
tops before they realized what had happened. As they 
arose into the bright sunlight, the wooden bowls and 
spoons from which they had been eating, were changed 
into beautiful shells of a scarlet color, the lodge poles 
were wires of glittering silver, and the bark covering was 
changed to the gorgeous wings of butterflies and hum- 
ming birds. And then all the sisters and brothers and 
fathers and mothers became birds of various kinds. 
There were jays and woodpeckers, and partridges and 
pigeons, and robins and larks, and other gay singing birds, 
and they all hopped around, pluming their shining feath- 
ers and pecking at each other. 

But poor Oweena still remained an old woman, walk- 
ing with a cane. Osseo felt sorry for her. He stroked 
her hand and whispered ' ' Ne-ne-moosh-ah, ' ' and then he 
again cast his eyes upward, and gave the same peculiar 
cry that he did when he dove into the hollow log. 

In an instant his wife became young and beautiful 
again. Her ragged gown was changed to a robe of shin- 
ing gauze, and her cane became a long silver feather. 
The lodge again shook and swayed, and then settled 
down on the Evening Star, which was the home of Os- 
seo 's parents. When Osseo and Oweena stepped out of 
the lodge they were met by the aged father. 

''My son,'' said he, '^lang that cage of birds in yon- 



78 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS XEW 

der tree, and then come to tlie lodge of your father." 

Osseo took the cage with its silver poles and gorgeons 
covering and hnng it in the tree and then with his wife he 
entered the lodge of his father. And here they lived, 
happy and contented, for a long time. Their little son 
grew to be a famous hunter. His father made bows and 
arrows for him and then let the birds out of the cage, one 
by one, that he might practice shooting at them. One day 
when he went to pick up a bird that he had shot, he found 
a young woman with an arrow piercing her heart. 

He had shot one of his aunts, and her blood was spat- 
tered over the spotless star. The charm was broken and 
the next moment the boy was sinking slowly toward the 
earth. Behind him followed a long procession of uncles 
and aunts, and other relatives, and behind them all was 
the silver bird cage, with its gorgeous covering of butter- 
flies ' and humming birds' wings. His father and mother 
were alone in the cage. 

Down, down, they all sank, until their feet rested on 
the highest cliffs of the rocky island of Mich-ili-mack-i- 
nac. Although they were all changed back to their 
natural shapes they were but little creatures, the size of 
fairies. And thus they have remained until this day. 

And ever since their visit to the Evening Star, 
when the nights are clear and still they join hands and 
circle around, and dance merrily on the top of the rocks. 

The little Indian children of long ago watched for 
them when the moon was full and the sky was cloudless. 
They often saw the shining lodge on the highest pin- 
nacles of the rocks and watched the little folk circling 



EAKLY IIISTOKY OF DETROIT 79 

about tlie cliffs, and those who ventured near enough 
often heard the happy voices of the little dancers. 



CADILLAC AND HIS VILLAGE 

There is no more historic spot in all this country than 
the city of Detroit. Before New York, New Orleans, Bos- 
ton, or Philadelphia were settled, the missionaries at 
Quebec and Montreal had heard of this beautiful region. 
When it was first visited by the French in 1610, 
it was occupied by the Indian village, Teuscha Grondie. 
This village soon became the resort of the Jesuit mission- 
aries, and fur traders, and also of bold adventurers and 
explorers. 

Some of them had come from Quebec by way of the 
Ottawa river and Georgian Bay to Sault Ste. Marie and 
Mackinaw, and then down the eastern shore of Lake 
Huron, while others came from the opposite direction, 
across Lakes Ontario and Erie to the mouth of the De- 
troit river. 

This river at that time was a favorite hunting and 
fishing resort for the Indians. Their lodges were scat- 
tered along the shore and their villages nestled in the 
most sheltered spots, where the smoke from their camp 
fires arose above the tree tops. 

Charlevoix says of these Indian villages: — ''A mass 
of cabins, some like sheds, some like tunnels, built of 
bark, propped up by a few stones. Sometimes covered 
on the outside with mud, daubed on pretty thick, con- 
structed with less art, skill, and solidity, than those of the 
beaver. These cabins are from fifteen to twenty feet 



80 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

long, and sometimes one hundred feet wide, with a fire 
on the ground, every thirty feet. When the floor is not 
large enough to furnish lodgings for all, the young men 
and boys sleep on a sort of stage, raised five or six feet 
from the ground, the whole length of the cabin. There 
are no windows or chimneys. A hole is left in the roof 
for the smoke to escape. All the Indian villages were 
like this.'^ 

The site of Detroit has had many names. The Ottawa 
Indians called it Wa-we-a-tun-ong, which means "where 
the river bends. ^^ The Hurons called it Ka-ron-ta-en, 
which means "the coast of the straits,'' and the Wyan- 
dots called it Teuscha Grondie. Its first name after set- 
tlement by the whites was Fort Ponchartrain, in honor 
of the French count and commandant of that name. 
Then the early French residents gave it another name, 
which in a modified form has remained until the present 
time. They called it "La Ville Detroit,'' the city of the 
strait, to distinguish it from other points on the straits 
that connected Lakes Erie and St. Clair. This name was 
applied to the settlements on both the north and south 
banks of the river. 

About twenty years after LaSalle and the Griffon 
passed over the waters that outline the Border Land, 
another important expedition came to this region from 
the opposite direction. Cadillac had been commandant 
at Mackinaw for four years. He was not at all satisfied 
with the conditions at that place. The winters were long 
and cold and dreary, and the summers were so short 
that very little grain or food of any kind could be raised. 
In his reports to his superiors, he said: — "It is a terrible 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 81 

])lace to live in. There is neither bread nor meat, such as 
I have been accustomed to eat. And no other food to be 
had excepting fish and wild game, and Indian corn/' 

This dissatisfaction led him to look about for a more 
suitable location for the colony which he expected to 
found. One where the climate should be milder and food 
more plentiful, and where he could better secure the mo- 
nopoly of the fur trade with the Indians, 

Having obtained permission from the government 
to found this colony at whatever place he considered 
most suitable, he began to make his plans. He left Mon- 
treal in the spring of 1701 by way of the Ottawa river 
route with one hundred followers consisting of fifty sol- 
diers and fifty French colonists. The journey was long 
and tedious, extending over six hundred miles, with many 
portages, across which they were obliged to carry their 
canoes, provisions, guns and ammunition. 

Slowly the little fleet of canoes and bateaux made 
their way along the coast of lake and river, propelled by 
the paddles of the hardy voyageurs, camping at night 
amid unknown dangers from brute and human foe. They 
followed the indented shore of "La Mer Douce" as they 
called Lake Huron, gliding from its mouth down the rap- 
ids at the head of the Otsi-Sippi, the Indian name for the 
river St. Clair, and on past the islands of its delta, into 
the watery meadows of the St. Clair Flats. And then 
over the surface of the cup-shaped lake which the In- 
dians called Otsi-Keta, and along the wooded Grosse 
Pointe shore until they reached their destination. 

The task of choosing a proper site for the colony was 
not an easy one. It must have a high elevation to be 



82 WHEN MICHIGAX WAS NEW 

healthful. It must have a suitable outlook in order to 
command a full view of the river, to guard against the 
secret approach of enemies. It must be an attractive 
place for the Indians, as it was the intention to invite 
them to settle there. The site of the present city of De- 
troit satisfied all these requirements and was selected 
as the most suitable locality for Cadillac's village. 

It was on the twenty-fourth of July, seventeen hundred 
and one, that Cadillac with his party of one hundred men 
landed at this place. A strong palisade of oak pickets 
about twelve feet high was built around a square of two 
hundred feet. Within this enclosure they built a few 
rude huts. 

To the Indians, the coming of Cadillac was a disturb- 
ing element in their simple life. This spot had been a 
favorite haunt of the red men for generations; a spot 
which had been held sacred as a gathering place of the 
many tribes of the Borderland, where their councils 
and war dances and great feasts were held. For this rea- 
son it was not surprising that the advent of these white 
men was not altogether pleasing to the owners of the 
country. But the new comers were very kind to them and 
paid them well for their land and they soon became fast 
friends of Cadillac and his followers. They flocked 
around him from all quarters, building their lodges above 
and below the Fort. Cadillac was just in all his dealings 
with them. While he encouraged them in industrious 
habits, his missionaries labored faithfully for the conver- 
sion of their souls. 

The village grew as if by magic. The streets all bore 
the name of some saint. There was St. Peter, St. An- 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 



83 



thony, St. Joseph, St. James, St. John, and St. Louis. A 
rude chapel was built which was called St. Anne. Cadil- 
lac ^s house is supposed to have stood on what is now 
the north side of Jefferson Avenue, between Griswold 
and Shelby streets. This was then St. Anne street, where 
all the aristocracy lived, with Cadillac as their leader. 




A STREET IN CADILLAC'S VILLAGE 

The houses of these early Detroiters were very simple in 
their construction. In order to provide themselves with 
some sort of shelter they were forced to build them so 
hurriedly that they had no time to cut and hew the logs. 
Even the houses of the aristocracy consisted of stakes 
driven into the ground, the crevices filled with mud. The 
steep roofs were made of split logs and thatched with 
grass. They had no windows, as glass, being very ex- 
pensive, was used only for the church. 

Taxes were unknown in the village. The only pub- 
lic expense was the maintenance of the church. To pro- 



84 • WHEN" MICHIGAN WAS ^^EW 

vide for this, each trader who visited Detroit; on business 
but did not reside there was assessed a certain amount 
for each visit. There was no law, therefore there were 
no courts. Cadillac was the ruler of the village. His 
word was law and was sufficient to settle any difficulties 
or disputes that might arise. He was an autocrat, proud 
and pompous. He was always clothed in military gar- 
ments, with his sword at his side ringing and clanging 
as it dragged on the ground. In his walks through the 
streets, all hats were raised at his approach. He felt the 
importance of his position, and was arrogant and over- 
bearing. He considered no one his equal save the village 
priest. 

For some time after the first Detroiters arrived at 
their new home they were busily engaged in building 
their houses to protect them from the cold and rain and 
the palisades to protect them from the Indians. At first 
there were no women or children in the place. The men 
huddled together in the little houses and cooked their 
own food and cared for their own clothing as well as pos- 
sible under such conditions. One year later the wives 
and mothers, and sons and daughters, began to arrive 
from Montreal and Quebec, and then each family had its 
own house and they began to live more comfortably. 

The colonists had arrived too late in the season to 
raise any crops the first year, but as Cadillac had brought 
a large quantity of seed wheat, they began to prepare the 
soil for planting it. It was called French winter wheat. 
It was sown in the fall, and gave them a fine crop the fol- 
lowing summer. 

Wild fruit and berries, and nuts, grew all around 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 85 

them in great abundance. They gathered quantities of 
tliese and dried them for the coming winter. Game of all 
kinds roamed in the forest, and fish were in front of their 
doors. The Indians furnished them with corn and maple 
sugar, and the first winter passed in comparative com- 
fort. 

Early in the spring Cadillac set his men at work to 
])repare the ground for the different kinds of seeds he 
liad brought with him. Each soldier, and colonist had a 
small garden of his own, while large tracts of land were 
planted with corn and other crops, for general use among 
the inhabitants. Grapes grew in great abundance, and 
a piece of land was set apart for their cultivation. It re- 
quired much hard labor to accomplish all this, as they had 
no oxen or horses to draw the heavy loads or to plough 
the ground. 

The Indians built their villages near the Fort. On 
the west were the Hurons, with their large cornfields, 
where they raised corn for themselves and also for the 
traders and the voyageurs. A short distance above the 
fort was a tribe of Loups, or Wolves, who were only al- 
lowed to occupy the spot until it was needed by the col- 
onists. Two miles further up the river, Cadillac located 
four tribes of Ottawas, who were ruled by the great chief 
Pontiac. The Miamis also came, and asked for land on 
which to build their village and plant their corn, and 
it was given to them. The war-loving Iroquois had made 
a temporary truce with the French and the friendly In- 
dians, so that they visited the village in great numbers, 
but did not build their lodges, or remain there as the oth- 
er tribes did. 



SG WHEX MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

For some time e;^ery thing prospered and Cadillac 
was very proud of his village. Its fame extended to the 
far Eastern settlements and so many people came there 
to live that there was no room for them. This led Cadillac 
to enlarge the enclosure, build new palisades and more 
houses for the new comers. Lots were free to all who 
would build within the enclosure, gardens were platted 
outside the Fort for those who would cultivate them and 
farms were staked out for those who were willing to work 
them. 

Cadillac would have no idlers in his village. Every 
man was expected to perform his share of the work. 
There were farmers, mechanics, and soldiers, and every 
man was a hunter. When the hunting season arrived 
they all left their homes for the hunting grounds, except- 
ing a sufficient number to guard the Fort. 

Five years after the village was founded, Cadillac 
brought three horses and some cattle to the place. Two 
of the horses died and for a long time the only horse in 
Detroit was a little French pony named Colin. 

The inhabitants of the village were not all on a social 
level. Cadillac, the militar}^ officers, and the priests 
ranked highest. Next in the social standing were the 
merchants, who kept the stores of useful merchandise 
which they sold to the whites. The traders came next, 
and lowest of all were the men who tilled the soil, and 
performed the drudgery for the inhabitants. 

Cadillac and his officers wore blue coats faced with 
white and trimmed with gold lace, with fine swords hang- 
ing at their sides. The priests wore long black robes fas- 
tened at the waist with a cord from which hung a silver 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 



87 



cross on a silver chain. The peasant, or farmer wore a 
coarse blue surtont, belted at the waist with a red woolen 
sash and a red woolen cap on his head with a scalping 
knife stuck in the band. The fur trader wore fur panta- 
loons, fringed at the sides, a blouse flannel shirt, and a 
fur cap decorated with feathers. 



.>;^<■^■" 




'«:4 



THE FIRST STE. ANNE'S CHURCH IN DETROIT 



The women of Cadillac's village made all the cloth, 
both linen and woolen, which they used for their own 
clothing, as well as for their families. They worked all 
the week, and on Sundays attended religious services in 
the little chapel of Ste. Anne. Although their homes were 
so rude, and their pleasures so few, they were all quite 



SS WHEX MICHIGAX WAS XEW 

happy and contented. During the summer they were 
very busy, but when winter came they had more leisure. 

They were fond of dancing and card playing. From 
the beginning of winter until the river was free from ice 
there was dancing and card parties, and feasting and 
frolicking, nearly every night in the week. The musical 
instruments that furnished the music for dancing were 
jewsharps and tin trumpets. 

As there were no horses there could be no sleigh-ride 
parties, but there was coasting on the hill side that sloped 
to the river, and there was skating and sliding on the 
smooth ice. And when there was nothing better to do 
they would gather around the great open fire in the In- 
dian Council Lodge and listen to the stories, and legends, 
and fairy tales, which the story tellers of the tribe told 
them through the half-breed village interpreters. 

EOGER'S RANGERS 
1760 

Although Quebec had fallen and the English had con- 
quered the French the Lily of France still floated over 
many of the Borderland posts. It therefore became 
necessary for the conquerers to invade and take posses- 
sion of these places. This dangerous task was assigned 
to Major Robert Rogers. He received orders to ascend 
the lakes and take possession of Detroit and Mackinaw. 
He was in command of a body who were well fitted for 
the work. Their adventures, and battles with the In- 
dians had made them famous throughout America. They 
were called Roger's Rangers, and had seen much active 
service in Indian warfare. He left Montreal, with two 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 89 

hundred men in fifteen whale boats. They follo^Yed the 
northern shore of Lake Ontario amid rough and boister- 
ous weather, until they reached Niagara Falls. Carry- 
ing their boats with them over the portage, they slowly 
pursued their voyage. It was late in the year. The 
winds blew cold and the waves ran high, the leaves were 
falling from the forest trees. 

They knew nothing about the country they were en- 
tering. No British troops had ventured so far west be- 
fore. The storm became a gale and the waves tossed 
their boats about imtil they became almost unmanage- 
able. At last, amid a pouring rain, they decided to go 
into camp until the weather had improved. 

Soon after they were settled they were visited by a 
party of warriors and Indian chiefs who said they had 
been sent by the great chief, Pontiac, who was the owner 
and ruler of all that country. Major Rogers and his 
party were ordered to proceed no farther until they con- 
sulted the great chief himself. The Indians said that they 
would see him very soon, as he was on his way to visit 
them. 

Before the day closed Pontiac made his appearance. 
He greeted Major Rogers in a very haughty manner 
and asked him what business he had in that country and 
how he dared enter it without asking permission. Major 
Rogers explained that the French had surrendered all 
their possessions to the English. This included not only 
Canada, but all the region along the Borderland. He told 
the haughty chief that he was on his way to take posses- 
sion of Detroit, which would bring peace and prosperity 
to the Indians as well as the whites. 



90 WHE^^ MICHIGAN WAS XEW 

Pontiac listened with the greatest attention, but made 
no reply, excepting that he should stand in their way 
until morning. He then returned to his own camp. The 
English suspected treachery, and stood guard all night. 
But they were not molested. He came again next morn- 
ing and announced his desire to live in peace with the 
English. He also gave them permission to remain in his 
country so long as they treated him with due respect. 
The calumet was then smoked by both parties and Major 
Eogers was allowed to proceed on his way. Until this 
time Pontiac had been the firm friend of the French. But 
he was shrewd and calculating and when he learned that 
they had been conquered his allegiance was transferred 
to the conquerors. 

When the Eangers were nearing Detroit, a message 
was sent to the commander of the Fort, announcing that 
the French had surrendered to the English, and that a 
company of men were advancing to relieve him from fur- 
ther duty. The French commander was very angry when 
he received this message. He was at first determined to 
hold the Fort against the invaders. He tried to arouse 
the Indians, but the influence of Pontiac kept them quiet. 
They refused to come to his assistance. 

The whale boats moved slowly along against the 
heavy currents of the Detroit river. On the right bank 
could be seen the village of the Wyandots, and on the 
left the clustered lodges of the Pottawatamies. In the 
distance the flag of France was flying for the last time 
above the bark roofs and weather-stained palisades of 
the little town. 

The Rangers landed on the Canadian side of the river 



EARLY HISTOEY OF DETROIT 91 

and pitclied their tents on the green turf of a meadow. 
Major Rogers, accompanied by a small party of officers 
and men, went across the river to take possession of the 
Fort. When the commandant saw the superior force that 
Major Rogers controlled he felt that resistance was use- 
less, and the garrison marched out and laid down their 
arms without protest. The French flag was lowered and 
the English flag arose in its place. The Indian war- 
riors, who had so recently been the active allies of the 
French, greeted the sight with triumphant yells. The 
common soldiers were held as prisoners and were sent 
to Montreal. But the inhabitants were allowed to keep 
their farms and houses on condition that they become 
British subjects. 

During all these proceedings the Indians looked on 
with amazement. They could not understand why so 
many men should surrender so peaceably to so few. They 
were overwhelmed at the power displayed by the Eng- 
lish and could not understand why the conquerors did not 
kill and scalp their prisoners on the spot. 

PONTIAC 
1760 - - 1769 

PoNTiAc's home was on a small, low island, in the 
mouth of Lake St. Clair. This Island was a short dis- 
tance above Belle Isle, and about nine miles from the 
Fort. The early French settlers called it Isle au Large, 
but later it was known as Isle la Peche, or Fish Island. 
This name was given to it from its resemblance to a fish 
in outline, and also because the waters around it were 



92 WHEN" MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

the favorite feeding resorts of the white fish. There 
were four wigwams on the upper end of the island, where 
the ground was highest. These were the homes of his 
four wives, and their families. On the south shore of 
the river, opposite Belle Isle, half hidden among a rag- 
ged growth of willows and rushes, was the large village 
of the Ottawas. About fifteen hundred men, women, and 
children who belonged to the tribe, lived here, with Pon- 
tiac for their chief. 

The Island was well situated for his home. From a 
high bluff on the upper end, he could watch the approach 
of an enemy either by land or water for a long distance. 
On both sides of the river there were endless marshes 
which it was impossible to penetrate excepting when 
they were frozen. For this reason, all visitors to the 
great chief were forced to travel either up or down the 
river. 

Although Pontiac was one of the greatest chiefs in the 
Borderland region he did not live in royal splendor. His 
private lodge, which no one dared enter without his per- 
mission, was a rude, oblong hut, made of bark and rushes. 
Here, in times of peace, he lounged on rush mats and rugs 
made of bear and buffalo skins. His warriors were with- 
in signal call, his wives attended to all his personal 
wants, and he was left alone while he watched the river 
and the lake for the approach of enemies, and plotted 
mischief against the whites. While he did this, he 
smoked his totem pipe and drank freely of the English 
rum. 

When he wearied of this idle life, he went to the hunt- 
ing grounds on the main land, where game, both feath- 



EARLY HISTOEY OF DETROIT 93 

ered and furred, was very abundant. Or lie paddled his 
bark canoe out into the lake, where the largest fish were 
found. And thus he lived, in savage indolence, king 
and ruler of Isle la Peche, and of the Ottawa village on 
the mainland. 

Pontiac was short and stout and his skin was very 
much darker than others of his tribe. His face wore a 
bold and stern expression, his manner was pompous, and 
arbitrary. When he visited the Port and the homes of 
the French inhabitants he wore the dress of the white 
man, but when he was idling at his Island home his cos- 
tume was scanty and simple. He wore nothing but a 
square of broadcloth around his body, fastened by a belt, 
or a red sash, such as the voyageurs wore. His feet and 
legs were bare and his long black hair hung loosely down 
his back. This costume was quite comfortable during 
the summer, but when winter came he was obliged to 
change it. He then wore leggins and moccasins and a 
hunting shirt, all made of tanned deerskin. A large 
woolen blanket was spread around his shoulders, fastened 
together in front with long sharp thorns. He sometimes 
wore a bear, or buffalo skin, outside of his blanket. 

This was the great chief Pontiac at the time he held 
his celebrated war council on the banks of the river Ecor- 
ces, where he disclosed his plans for the total destruction 
of all the military posts along the Borderland. 

After the battle of Bloody Run, Pontiac became dis- 
couraged. His great conspiracy, by which he hoped to 
drive the hated English from the country, had ended in 
a failure. Soon after peace had been declared between 
the United States and England, and the stars and stripes 



94 



VVHEN^ MICHIGAN WAS ^EW 



were floating over the Fort at Detroit lie bade a last fare- 
well to his Island home. The Indian villages near De- 
troit were nearly all broken up, and the Ottawas had set- 
tled on the banks of the Manmee river, not far away. 
Pontiac's lodge and the wigwams of his families were 
removed to a dense forest which was known as the 
''Black Swamp of the Maumee.'^ He had left his favor- 




WINDMILL ON SHORE OF LAKE ST. CLAIR, OVERLOOKING 
PONTIAC'S HOME. 

] te wife in an Indian grave on the high bluff at the upper 
end of Isle la Peche. With the remaining three and his 
children he lived at this place for about four years, sup- 
j)lying the simple wants of his families with his rod and 
gun. 

At last he became restless, and went to St. Louis to 
visit some French friends, whom he had once known in 
Detroit. Wkile there, he learned that a big Indian pow- 
wow was to be held at the Indian village across the Mis- 
sissippi river, a few miles distant. Against the advice 
and the warnings of his friends, he decided to attend it. 
He dressed himself in the uniform of a French officer and 
went. A great feast was spread and rum was plentiful. 



EARLY HISTOEY OF DETEOIT 95 

Pontiac drank, and talked in his grandest manner, boast- 
ing of his great deeds in the past, until daylight, when he 
left the village, and started on his return to St. Louis, 
singing loudly, as he tottered along over the uneven trail. 

The English who lived in St. Louis did not trust the 
old chief. They were suspicious that he might be plot- 
ting mischief against the whites and they determined to 
guard against it. A prominent English trader agreed to 
give an Illinois Indian a barrel of rum, if he would mur- 
der the treacherous Indian chief. The Indian followed 
Pontiac into the forest and while he was lying in a 
drunken stupor the deed was accomplished. The mur- 
derer carried the scalp of his victim to his employer and 
received his reward. 

Pontiac 's body was taken to St. Louis and was buried 
with military honors by his French friends. There is 
neither mound nor tablet to mark his burial place. But 
it is somewhere in the heart of the great city and the pale 
face race whom he hated so bitterly now trample the soil 
over his grave. 

PONTIAC 'S CONSPIRACY 
1763 

The Borderland Indians were friendly toward the 
whites while the French were in possession. But they 
soon had cause to regret their change of masters. The 
French had been generous and honorable in all their 
business transactions. They had supplied the Indians 
with guns and ammunition and had provided them with 
clothing and other civilized luxuries, so that thev had al- 



96 WHEX MICHIGAX WAS NEW 

most discarded the garments and weapons of their fore- 
fathers and depended entirely npon the whites for their 
support. But when the country passed into the hands of 
the English everything was changed. The supplies 
which the Indians looked upon as partial pa^anent for the 
lands that had been taken from them were witheld en- 
tirely or distributed so sparingly that they were of little 
benefit. And to make matters worse the agents and offi- 
cers of the government often kept the goods themselves 
and then sold them to the Indians at a high price. 

This sudden change was a sad thing for the Indians 
and they soon grew discontented. Under the French 
manageraent they were received with much kindness and 
respect when they visited the Fort. But the English met 
them with sour looks and threats, and sometimes with 
kicks and cuffs. Besides all these insults and cruelties, 
the Indians began to realize fully that the settlers were 
gradually appropriating their best hunting grounds for 
homes and they became aroused to a state of rebellion. 

This was very satisfactory to the French. They saw 
an opportunity to revenge themselves upon their con- 
querors. They used every effort to arouse the Indians. 
They told them falsehoods, made them wonderful prom- 
ises, and offered to join them in an uprising. They re- 
peatedly urged them to take up arms against the English, 
and further encouraged them by distributing arms and 
ammunition, and clothing and provisions. All of these 
influences had such an effect upon the Indians, whose 
, minds were already inflamed with a sense of their wrongs, 
that they could no longer remain quiet. 

Although Pontiac was chief of but one tribe, a great 



P:ARLY III8T0I?Y of DETROIT 97 

many other tribes yielded to his authority. He was 
shrewd enough to forsee the fate of the Indians if the 
English were allowed to remain, and he resolyed to driye 
them from the country before they got a firmer foothold. 
He sent messengers to all the tribes in the Borderland 
region, as well as those in the far Northwest, summon- 
ing them to a great council. This council was to be held 
on the banks of the riyer Ecorces, a few miles below De- 
troit. Very soon the sayage tribes responded to the call 
of their leader. They gathered on the banks of the riyer 
and took their seats in a circle on the grass. For a long 
time they sat in silence, while the council pipe was pass- 
ed from hand to hand, each one taking a puff, until the 
circle was complete. 

At last Pontiac appeared on the edge of the forest 
and strode haughtily into their midst, all plumed and 
painted for war. He cast a fierce glance around upon the 
waiting crowd before he spoke. He then began to de- 
nounce the English and called upon the chiefs to arise 
and defend their rights to the country. He told them of 
a dream, in which the Great Spirit had sent a message 
to them by him, in which they were commanded to rise 
in a body and driye the red coated English dogs from 
eyery post in the country. He told them they must cast 
aside the weapons, the clothing and the rum of the white 
man. The credulous Indians listened to the message as 
if it were really a yoice from on high. They arose and 
left the council, prepared to obey the command of their 
chief. It was at this council meeting that Pontiac first 
disclosed his plans for the destruction of the garrison at 
Detroit. An early writer tells us that while he talked 



98 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

about it he grew so excited that at times his voice rang 
out like a bugle. 

Detroit was the most important of the Borderland 
posts, and Pontiac selected this as his own particular 
field of action, leaving the other tribes to deal with Mack- 
inaw and the smaller places. He proposed to visit the 
Fort with a pretense of peace and massacre the whole 
garrison. The Indians agreed to this and were anxious 
to begin the attack immediately. 

At this time Detroit was but a small village. The Fort 
with its little garrison of one hundred and twenty men, 
under command of Captain Donald Campbell, formed 
the central figure. The beautiful river, only half a mile 
wide at this point, flowed in front, almost washing the 
foundations. Above and below, as far as the eye could 
see, on both banks of the river, were the little white farm 
houses, surrounded by green orchards. Back of them, 
were the rich pasture lands where fed the cows and sheep 
and shaggy ponies. Within sight of the Fort were the 
Indian villages, where the Indian warriors feasted and 
plotted mischief. Here the Indian maiden beaded her 
buckskin leggins and moccasins and plaited her long, 
black hair. Troops of naked children wrangled and 
played their simple games on the matted turf and wrin- 
kled old squaws gathered wood and poked the camp fires 
under the kettles of boiling sagamite. 

About this time Sir William Johnson appeared in 
Detroit with instructions from the English government 
to make a treaty of peace with the Indians, if possible. 
Major Gladwin also arrived at the same time with a com- 
pany of soldiers. He had been sent to take command of 



EARLY HISTOEY OF DETEOIT 99 

the Fort, and relieve Captain Campbell, who, for some 
reason, was placed second in command. The new com- 
mander knew nothing of the discontented feeling among 
the Indians, and when the subject was first mentioned 
to him he laughed at the soldiers fears. He said that 
for two years there had been no trouble among the 
Indians and there was no reason to fear any at that time. 

Soon after this a Canadian woman, who had visited 
the Ottawa village to buy some venison and maple sugar, 
reported that when she was passing among the wigwams 
she saw the Indians filing off the ends of their gun 
barrels. When the village blacksmith heard this, he said 
that for several days the Indians had been borrowing files 
and saws from him. A few days later, Major Gladwin 
received a secret message informing him that the garri- 
son would be attacked by Pontiac the next day. But the 
day passed and nothing happened. 

Among the Ojibwas was a young Indian girl who was 
noted for her skill in making and ornamenting mocca- 
sins. Major Gladwin had engaged her to make a pair for 
him from the skin of an elk which he had shot. He 
wished to present them to a friend. He was very much 
pleased with the moccasins when she brought them to 
him, and he ordered her to take the remainder of the 
skin home and make another pair for himself. Then he 
paid her for the work and dismissed her, but she did not 
leave the Fort. She loitered near the door as if there 
was something more she wished to say. A sentinel 
noticed the sad, distressed look on her face, and after 
watching her for some time, he reported the matter to 
Major Gladwin. As soon as the officer caught the ex- 



100 



WHEN ]\^CHIGA^^ WAS ^vTEW 



pression of her eyes, which were sad and downcast, he 
knew that she wished to tell him some important secret. 
But when he questioned her, she only shook her head 
and made no reply. 




UNVEILING THE CONSPIRACY OF rONTIAC 

Aftek hesitating awhile, she told him he had been 
so good to her, and valued the elk skin so highly, that 
she did not wish to take it away, as she would not be able 
to bring it back. Major Gladwin's curiosity was excited, 
and he insisted that she tell him her secret. At last, 
when he promised that no harm should come to her, she 
told him of Pontiac's plan to destroy the garrison and 
massacre all the inhabitants. She said that the Indians 



KAKLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 101 

had sawed off their gun barrels so that they could con- 
ceal them under their blankets, and that Pontiac and his 
chiefs would soon visit the Fort to hold council. He 
would make a speech, and, when he had finished, he would 
present a wampum peace belt to Major Gladwin. When 
he reversed the belt in his hand it would be the signal for 
a general massacre. Major Gladwin thanked the girl 
and told her to go back to the Indian village, and be care- 
ful that she said or did nothing to arouse suspicion. 

The next morning it rained and the Indians did not 
appear. The garrison, however, was kept under arms to 
prevent a surprise. Towards evening the clouds rolled 
away and the sun set in a blaze of glory, lighting up the 
colors of the English flag that floated over the Fort. 
Twilight was soon lost in the shadows of the night and 
darkness settled on forest and stream. Major Gladwin 
walked the ramparts all night, thoughtful and watchful. 
He was now satisfied that Pontiac meant war and he re- 
alized that he was not prepared for it. He was in the 
heart of the wilderness, the Fort was weak, and he had 
but one hundred and twenty men to defend it. The night 
passed without any disturbance. Now and then they 
heard the rumble of the Indian drums from the Ottawa 
village, and the whoops and yells of the Indian warriors, 
as they danced around the camp fires that reddened the 
sky. 

With the coming of dawn, all was bustle and con- 
fusion within the Fort. Although the sun rose bright 
and clear, a heavy mist hung over the river, completely 
hiding it from their view. But later a strong breeze 
swept over the water and the mist began to rise like 



102 WHEN" MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

elonds and slowly floated away. Then a strange sight 
met their gaze. The water was covered with bark canoes, 
which were moving slowly across the river. Only two 
or three warriors appeared in each canoe. The others 
were lying stretched ont in the bottom to avoid being seen 
by the garrison. There was a large common behind the 
Fort which was soon crowded with the warriors and the 
sqnaws and children from the Indian village. Some were 
dressed in fantastic costumes or gaudily painted, and all 
were preparing for a game of ball. 

Pontiac slowly approached the Fort with sixty chiefs 
behind him, all marching one behind the other in Indian 
file. Each was wrapped to the chin in his woolen blanket 
which concealed his shortened rifle. Some wore the 
plumes of the hawk, the eagle, or the raven in their hair. 
Others wore only the scalp lock, while a few wore their 
hair naturally, the long, black locks half concealing their 
painted faces. As Pontiac passed through the gate of 
the Fort, he uttered a low grunt of surprise. Instead 
of finding the garrison unguarded, as he had expected, 
he was obliged to march between two lines of glittering 
steel. He cast a malignant glance at the armed soldiers, 
as he passed by them. The houses of the traders and 
employes of the Fort were all closed and the occupants 
were standing guard at the corners of the streets, all 
armed to the teeth. 

The great chief strode haughtily through the principal 
street of the place, followed b}^ his warriors. They were 
conducted to the council chamber where Major Gladwin 
and his principal officers were waiting to receive them. 
The troops were all lined up on parade. The Indians 



EAT^LY HISTORY OF DETROIT 103 

were very quick to notice this, as it would interfere with 
their plans. But they held their heads a little higher 
and tried to appear at ease. 

As they passed through the door of the council room, 
they saw Major Gladwin and the other officers seated at 
the farther end, each with a sword at his side and a brace 
of pistols in his belt. An angry scowl settled on Pontiac's 
brow as he realized that his treachery had been dis- 
covered. Without waiting for the usual ceremonies, 
he asked Major Gladwin why the soldiers were drawn up 
in line and parading the streets. 

^'To make them perfect in their drill," was the reply. 

Although Pontiac knew that this was false he said 
nothing. He watched the chiefs as they seated them- 
selves on the skins that were spread upon the ground, 
and then began his address. He held the wampum belt 
in his hand while he talked. He spoke of his good will 
and friendship toward the English; said he had always 
been their friend and wished to continue so as long as 
they remained in the country. Major Gladwin paid but 
little attention to the speech, but kept his eyes fastened 
on the wampum belt. He knew that when the deadly 
signal was given, no time must be lost. 

As Pontiac finished his speech, he lifted the belt as if 
he meant to pass it to Major Gladwin. At the same in- 
stant, the commandant slightly raised his hand, when 
each officer drew his sword half way out of its scabbard. 
A sudden clattering of arms from the outside, and the 
rapid beating of a great drum filled the council room with 
a volume of sound. The warriors were trembling with 
fear, and the great chief himself was for a moment 



104 WHEN" MICHIGAN WAS XEW 

■anable to move or speak, so great was liis surprise at 
this sudden thwarting of all his carefully laid plans. 

When the drum had ceased beating and all was again 
quiet, Major Gladwin made a speech in reply to Pontiac. 
Instead of thanking him for his proffered friendship, he 
called him a traitor. He told him that the English knew 
all about his treachery and his plans for destroying the 
garrison. To prove his assertion he approached the 
chief, drew aside the blanket which he wore and un- 
covered the shortened gun. This proved very embarrass- 
ing to the Indians, who now began to fear that they 
might prove the victims, rather than the victors. But as 
the commandant had given them a promise that they 
should always be safe when they asked for a council, he 
could not break it. However, he advised them to get out 
of the Fort as soon as possible, lest the soldiers should 
seek revenge for this treachery. Pontiac tried very hard 
to convince the commandant that he was not guilty, but 
Major Gladwin refused to listen, and the Indians sul- 
lenly left the Fort. 

Pontiac was not discouraged by his ill luck. He de- 
termined to again make friends with the English that he 
might carry out his plans. The next day was Sunday. 
Late in the afternoon, with several of his chiefs, he 
paddled across the river to smoke the peace pipe with the 
officers of the Fort. Major Gladwin refused to go near 
them, but Captain Campbell thought it was a better 
policy to pacify them. He went outside the Fort, smoked 
the peace pipe with them and brought back a message 
to Major Gladwin, saying that the whole nation would 
come to council the next day, when they would settle 



EAPiLY HISTOEY OF DETROIT 105 

everything satisfactorily with the English. After this was 
done, the Indians would all depart and go back to their 
several villages. 

The next morning the sentinels saw a fleet of canoes in 
the distance. They counted them one after another, as 
they came around the point of the island. There were 
more than half a hundred and in each one were seven or 
eight Indians. The canoes were drawn up on the sandy 
beach and the Indians, with Pontiac at their head, 
marched slowly, one behind the other, to the Fort. When 
they reached the gate, Pontiac demanded admittance. He 
was met by an interpreter, who told him that he could 
enter alone, but that his warriors must remain outside. 
Pontiac was very indignant at this treatment. In his 
haughtiest manner, he told the interpreter to say to the 
commandant that either all or none of the Indians would 
enter the Fort. 

^^Tell him,'' said the angry chief, ''that he may stay 
inside his Fort and I will keep the country. ' ' 

He then turned away in a great rage, strode proudly 
to his canoe and paddled across the river to the Ottawa 
village. His warriors were furious at the failure of their 
plans. They began to whoop and yell, and hunt around 
for some one on whom they might wreak their venge- 
ance. At last some of them ran to the house of an Eng- 
lish woman that stood near the Fort and murdered her 
and her two sons. Another party paddled swiftly to Belle 
Isle, where they killed a drove of cattle that belonged to 
the English, and scalped and murdered the Englishmen 
who had them in charge. They also killed a boat's crew, 
consisting of the captain and six men, who were on the 



106 WHEN MICHIGA^^ WAS XEW 

return trip from the St. Clair Flats, where they had 
been sent to discover a passage for one of the small 
schooners that was bound for Mackinaw. 

But Pontiac was too haughty to stoop to such revenge 
as this. On his return to the Ottawa village, he ordered 
the Indian women to immediately move their wigwams 
across the river to an elevated spot some distance above 
the Fort. He then retired to his wigwam on Peche Is- 
land and spent the day in planning schemes of revenge. 

Before night, the lodge poles were all planted, and the 
old men and the women and children were busy at work 
arranging their possessions and building their camp fires. 
The warriors had all assembled back of the Fort, and 
were seated in a circle on the grass ready for a war coun- 
cil, when Pontiac leaped suddenly into their midst. He 
was painted hideously and dressed in full war costume. 
Swinging his tomahawk he began the war chant. He 
grew excited as he recited his own great deeds and be- 
rated the English. A murmur of assent arose from his 
listeners, and one by one they rose to their feet and be- 
gan to whirl round until every one was dancing the war 
dance. 

Major Gladwin now began to realize the great danger 
that threatened the garrison. The noise made by the 
frenzied savages drove all thoughts of sleep away. Every 
man, both officers and soldiers, stood guard all night, in 
readiness for whatever might happen. While Major 
Gladwin paced the narrow street that encircled the build- 
ings of the Fort, just inside of the pickets, he thought of 
their desperate situation and tried to plan what was best 
for them to do. Between the garrison and the savages 





EARLY HISTOEY OF DETROIT 107 

there was but a single row of palisades. This was made 
by planting logs close together, deep in the ground, so 
that they stood twenty-five feet high. There were block 
houses at the corners, which gave them a fair outlook 
in every direction, and the river gave them plenty of 
water. A schooner and a sloop, both well armed, sailed 
between Detroit and Niagara, and could be depended 
upon to supply them with food and ammunition. 

With the daybreak, Major Gladwin joined the anxious 
watchers in the blockhouse at the southeast corner of the 
Fort. On the low bluff they could see the lodges of the 
Ottawas, that had been moved over during the night. 
This told them that Pontiac was preparing for a siege. 
And while they were still talking about it, a pattering of 
bullets against the blockhouse told them that it had al- 
ready begun. The Indians were nowhere to be seen. 

During the morning a number of French settlers, who 
had been summoned by Pontiac for a grand council, 
visited the Fort. They told the commandant that most 
of the French inhabitants were gathered at the house of 
a trader, where the Indians were to hold their council. 
They asked him to allow Captain Campbell and another 
officer to go to the council with them and try to make 
peace with the Indians. They promised that both should 
be allowed to return in safety to the Fort that very night. 
Major Gladwin was not in favor of their going, but when 
the Frenchmen promised that they would be given a good 
supply of corn, and flour, and bear's grease, he con- 
sented. As they had but a small supply of provisions 
within the Fort, he feared that this might be their only 
opportunity of securing more. 



108 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

The party was but a short distance from the Fort 
when they met Mr. Gouin, one of the French settlers, 
who warned the officers not to venture among the excited 
Indians, as their lives would be in danger if they did. 
But they paid no attention to his advice and went on. 
When they reached the river bank, they were attacked by 
a party of Indians and would have been murdered if 
Pontiac had not come to their rescue. On entering the 
house they found the largest room filled with Frenchmen 
and Indians. In the center of the group sat the trader 
wearing a hat and coat trimmed with gold lace which had 
once belonged to some military officer. He paid no at- 
tention to the officers who were so much his superiors in 
rank, but kept his seat without removing his hat. Pon- 
tiac addressed the sullen trader, first with some flatter- 
ing remarks, and then turned to the English officers. He 
told them that peace could not be secured in any other 
way than by the English leaving the country, without their 
arms and baggage, as the French had been obliged to 
do three years before. Captain Campbell made a plea 
for peace in a few words and then he and his companion 
sat down and waited for Pontiac 's reply. An hour passed 
in silence, and at last discouraged at their failure in se- 
curing a promise of peace, the two officers arose and pre- 
pared to return to the Fort. But the wily chief had other 
plans. He said in a quiet tone of voice, while a wicked 
smile spread over his features : 

''My father will sleep in the lodge of his red chil- 
dren," and they were immediately placed under a strong 
guard and sent to the house of Mr. Meloche, one of the 
French inhabitants. 



EAKL^' IIISTOKY OF DKTIIOIT 103 

The next day Pontiac sent a messenger to Major Glad- 
win with his offer to make peace only on condition that 
the English leave the country. The French inhabitants 
urged him to escape while there was a chance. But he 
refused to listen to the terms. The soldiers caught his 
spirit, and vowed they would hold the Fort until help 
should arrive from the far away army. 

The Indians were now all around the Fort and a reg- 
ular siege liad begun. Not a head could expose itself at 
a loophole, or above the parapets, without becoming the 
target of a hundred guns, and the garrison was con- 
stantly on the alert. The Indians gathered in great num- 
bers behind a cluster of buildings that stood near the 
Fort. Finding it impossible to reach them with grape 
shot. Major Gordon ordered a quantity of spikes to be 
heated red hot and fired into the buildings. This was 
done and they were soon blazing. The terrified Indians 
ran across the fields, screeching and yelling, followed by 
shouts of laughter from the garrison. In this manner, 
and by bold sallies, they gradually cleared away all the 
outbuildings, and fences, and orchards, that furnished 
shelter for the Indians, so that the cannon could sweep the 
entire region around the Fort. The Indians now tried to 
set fire to the houses within the enclosure, by crawling 
through the grass as near as possible to the palisades 
and then throwing wads of burning tow on the thatched 
roofs. But there was plenty of water in tanks and cis- 
terns and these fires were easily extinguished. 

About this time Major Gladwin learned that a detach- 
ment of troops with provisions was on its way to De- 
troit. He immediately dispatched the smaller of the 



110 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS XEW 

two schooners that lay at anchor in front of the Fort to 
tell them of his danger and bid them hasten to his as- 
sistance. The Indians kept np the firing every day and 
the men were becoming discouraged. The news of the 
approaching fleet was the only thing that kept them from 
giving up in despair. Day after day they watched the 
river from early morning until twilight shut out the 
view. But the weary days passed slowly by and nothing 
was heard of the troops or the schooner. 

To add to their troubles, they began to hear rumors 
that proved how cleverly Pontiac^s plans to drive the 
English from the borderland region were being carried 
out. First there came news of the capture of Fort San- 
dusky, where the commandant was called by the sentry 
to speak with some Indians at the gate. He allowed them 
to enter the Fort and gave them some tobacco. He was 
seized and bound and carried outside the gate where he 
saw all the garrison lying dead on the ground. The next 
day the commandant of the garrison at the Miamis, 
learned that Detroit had been attacked by the Indians. 
He immediately set his men at work preparing ammuni- 
tion. While they were busy at this, an Indian woman 
begged him to bleed one of her friends who was ill in 
a wigwam outside the stockade. While on his way he was, 
shot and killed. The terrified garrison immediately sur- 
rendered to two of Pontiac's meessengers, who were 
Frenchmen. About the same time a party of Indians at- 
tacked Fort St. Joseph, when the commandant and part 
of the garrison were taken prisoners and the remainder 
killed. All these misfortunes came to the ears of Major 
Gladwin and made him very despondent. 



EARLY HISTOEY OF DETROIT 111 

At last one morning, after a niglit of terrible experi- 
ences with the savages, a shout was heard from the sen- 
try on guard, announcing that the expected rescuers were 
in sight. The news quickly spread through the garrison. 

The soldiers rushed out of the gate that was protected 
by the guns of the schooner. They crowded the banks 
of the river and shouted for joy. Away in the distance, 
they could see the fleet of boats slowly advancing. The 
dripping oars were flashing in the sun, and the English 
flag was fluttering in the breeze. Every heart bounded 
with excitement and three rousing cheers were sent over 
the water. The guns fired a salute that shook the foun- 
dations of the Fort and echoed and re-echoed through 
the forest. But no answering cheers came back, and the 
fleet drew nearer and nearer in dead silence. 

Suddenly every face paled with horror. Dark, naked 
figures were seen rising in the boats, waving their arms 
wildly above their heads, while the distant sound of the 
war whoop floated over the water. The soldiers looked 
at each other in silent terror. They could not speak, nor 
was it necessary. The war cries and wild gestures told 
the whole story. The fleet was in the hands of the 
enemy. The boats had been captured and the troops had 
been murdered or taken prisoners. 

With heavy hearts and sorrowful thoughts they 
watched the approach of the boats, eighteen in num- 
ber, until the occupants could be seen distinctly. In 
each of the boats were two or more of the English 
prisoners, who were compelled to act as rowers. The 
remainder of the space was occupied by the savages, 
while another party kept pace with the boats along 



112 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

the shore. In the leading boat were four soldiers 
and only three Indians. As the boats came opposite 
the anchored schooner, one of the soldiers made np 
iiis mind to escape. He made his plans known to 
his companions by signs and then, while pretending 
to change places with one of the rowers, he threw himself 
on the most powerful of the three Indians and jumped 
overboard into the water. The savage clutched him by 
the throat and they were both drowned together. The 
two remaining Indians were so frightened by the sudden 
attack that they leaped into the water and swam to the 
shore. The soldiers then turned and paddled toward the 
schooner as swiftly as possible. 

When the Indians on shore saw what had happened, 
they started in pursuit, firing as they approached and 
wounding one of the soldiers. The boat was loaded down 
with its cargo of pork and flour and could make but little 
headway. The Indians were fast gaining on them, but 
at last the schooner sent a volley of shot which ploughed 
up the waters among the light canoes and sent them fly- 
ing to the shore. The soldiers were now able to reach the 
schooner with the much needed supplies. 

Of the ten bateaux that had left Niagara, eight had 
been captured by the Indians. The remaining two, wlii^li 
contained the commandant and forty soldiers, succeeded 
in making their escape and returning to Niagara. The 
Indians had brought with them over ninety prisoners. 
They had also captured a large quantity of ammunition, 
provisions and other articles. Unfortunately for the be- 
sieged garrison there was a large quantity of rum and 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 113 

other liquors among the cargo. This the Indians carried 
to their camps immediately. 

And now came the darkest days of the siege. The 
Indians were intoxicated the most of the time. In their 
horrible revels they tortured the English prisoners in 
every manner known to their cruel nature. Some of 
them were compelled to run the gauntlet and were hacked 
at every step with knives in the hands of the squaws. 
Others were roasted before a slow fire and others were 
chopped in pieces while still alive. This terrible torture 
lasted for many days and during it all the survivors 
were forced to witness agonies which they knew they 
would soon be forced to endure themselves. Day after 
day the mutilated bodies of the dead prisoners floated 
down the river past the Fort in full view of the garrison. 

At this time they received news of the dreadful mas- 
sacre at Mackinaw, which was the worst of any that had 
yet taken place. And now one post after another had 
fallen, imtil Detroit was the only one kft in the hands of 
the English. A few days later some Frenchmen brought 
word that a large party of Indian warriors had joined 
Pontiac, which increased the number of his forces to 
eight hundred and forty warriors. These, with the 
squaws and children, made over three thousand who were 
scattered around the Fort and over the meadows. 

With Pontiac 's continued successes, he grew aggressive 
and began to assume airs and imitate the whites. On 
the opposite side of the river was the little French mission 
house, where the missionaries preached to the settlers. 
One Sunday morning Pontiac paddled across the river to 
attend mass. When the services were over he selected 



114 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

three of the sedan chairs, in which the better class of 
French residents had been carried to church by their 
slaves. He then obliged their owners to carry him and 
his companions back to their canoes. He also imitated 
Major Gladwin in his business dealings with the whites. 
When he bought cattle for meat he gave his note, which 
meant a promise to pay at a certain time. Instead of 
paper with the agreement written on it, he gave thin, 
square pieces of cedar, on which he drew his totem, the 
picture of an otter. He was perfectly honest in redeem- 
ing these agreements when they were presented to him. 
Each one represented a certain number of pounds of 
beaver skins which were promptly weighed and de- 
livered. 

The savages were now becoming impatient at their un- 
successful attempts to destroy the Fort and once more 
Pontiac appeared at the gate, and demanded the sur- 
render of the garrison. He told the interpreter that a 
large party of warriors were on their way from Macki- 
naw to Detroit. They had already destroyed the garri- 
son at that place and they were now coming to help him. 
Major Gladwin told him that when he returned the 
English prisoners to the Fort they would talk about the 
matter, but until that was done he might save himself 
the trouble of sending any more messages. In reply to 
this, Pontiac said that his kettle was hanging over the 
fire, all ready to cook the whole garrison, and that if the 
prisoners were returned, they would soon come back to 
him again, to be cooked with the others. 

The next day they heard that the schooner was near 
Detroit, and would soon come to their relief. And after 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 115 

many tlirilling experiences with the savages, who lay in 
wait for them on some of the islands at the month of the 
river, the schooner at last ploughed her way over the 
white capped waters, and dropped her anchor opposite 
the Fort. She landed a force of fifty men, and a large 
quantity of provisions and ammunitions. 

As time passed and the garrison still remained in pos- 
session of the Fort, Pontiac grew impatient. He began 
to quarrel with the French, threatening them with his 
vengeance unless they joined him and took up arms 
against the English. When Major Gladwin heard this 
he summoned the residents to meet him at the Fort and 
read to them the treaty of peace that had been signed by 
France and England. They turned against the old chief, 
formed themselves into a company and after choosing a 
leader, they joined Major Gladwin's troops. 

With this loss of support, Pontiac grew desperate. He 
used every means in his power to torture and destroy. 
He pulled down the barns of the French farmers and 
made rafts of the bark and logs. He then plastered them 
over with pitch and other combustibles that would burn 
fiercely. These were towed out into the river, a short 
distance above the anchored vessels, and set on fire. 
There they were left with the swift current to float them 
down against the vessels. The flames leaped high in the 
air, lighting up all the whitewashed farm houses along 
the shores, and the wooded island in the background. But 
the crews of the boats saw the danger and were prepared 
to meet it. They were anchored by two cables, one at 
each end. When the fire raft api^ro-iched they slipped 
one of the cables, thus allowing the boats to swing around 



116 WHEN MICHIGAlSr WAS NEW 

while the blazing structure passed harmlessly on its way 
down the river. 

A few weeks later, twenty-two barges from Niagara 
arrived at the Fort, under command of Captain Dalzell. 
The garrison was now reinforced with two hundred and 
eighty men, several small cannon and a fresh supply of 
provisions and ammunition. Captain Dalzell was anx- 
ious to put an end to the siege at once by crushing Pontiac 
and his followers with one bold stroke. He wished to 
make an attack on the Ottawa village the very night of his 
arrival. But Major Gladwin, who understood the power 
and treachery of the cunning Indian chief, was opposed to 
this movement. He only gave his consent when Dalzell 
threatened to leave Detroit unless he could have his own 
way. 

Through the treachery of some of the French resi- 
dents, Pontiac learned of these plans and was on his 
guard. Very early in the morning of the last day of July 
Captain Dalzell marched his force of two hundred and 
fifty men along the sandy shore of the swift running river 
toward a little stream about a mile and a half above the 
Fort. 



THE BATTLE OF BLOODY RIDGE , - 
1763 

Parent's creek was a mile and a half from the Fort. 
It followed a wild, rough ravine, which ran diagonally 
across the narrow French farms and found its way in a 
slow, sluggish fashion through a thick growth of tall 
wild grass and rushes until it reached the Detroit river. 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 117 

The road that followed the river shore in front of the 
Fort crossed the creek on a long, narrow wooden bridge. 
Just beyond the bridge the land rose in high banks which 
ran along the two sides of the narrow stream. All along 
these banks were rude fortifications which Pontiac had 
built to protect his camp. Besides these, there were long 
piles of fire wood which belonged to the inhabitants, and 
stout picket fences which enclosed the orchards and 
gardens. 

Soon after midnight the gates of the Fort were care- 
fully opened and a company of soldiers, numbering about 
two hundred and fifty, under command of Captain Dal- 
zell, moved silently up the river in the direction of Pon- 
tiac 's camp. Two by two they marched in perfect silence 
while two small bateaux, each carrying a swivel gun 
moved along the river near the shore, just abreast of 
them. The night was still and sultry, and so dark that 
the white farm houses on their left looked like black 
shadows against the midnight sky. 

The inhabitants along the line of march were aroused 
by the barking of the house dogs. They came to their 
windows and watched the long procession of gleaming 
bayonets until they disappeared in the darkness, at a loss 
to understand what it all meant. 

And thus the English marched on without a suspicion 
that Pontiac knew anything about their plans, or that be- 
hind every shelter Indian scouts were watching them. 
Painted warriors, armed and eager for battle, were 
crouching behind fences, woodpiles and the rude forti- 
fications, with leveled guns, awaiting the war whoop sig- 
nal to attack the enemy. 



118 WHEK MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

As the soldiers drew near the creek, they could see 
the house of Mr. Meloche, a French habitant, which stood 
on a little knoll at the left, and in front of them, the hazy 
outlines of the bridge, while farther beyond, the high em- 
bankment rose like a black wall in the darkness. Sud- 
denly, when the advance guard had crossed over the 
bridge, and the main body was just entering upon it, 
there was a horrible savage yell in front, and a discharge 
of guns from behind fences, woodpiles and intrench 
ments. More than half of the soldiers in the advance 
guard were shot down in their tracks, and the remainder 
retreated in great confusion. But Captain Dalzell ral- 
lied his men, and the whole force made a bold dash across 
the bridge and up the embankment. Cheered by their 
leader's voice and his words of command, they hastily 
mounted the highest ridges, but not an Indian was in 
sight. 'They could see nothing but the flashes of the 
enemy's guns. 

The soldiers were desperate from their losses. They 
hunted in vain among the woodpiles and behind the 
fences, for their enemies, although the guns continued 
to flash through the darkness, and the frightful war 
whoops mingled with the reports. To advance was im- 
possible. The country was unknown to them and the 
enemy was invisible. Their only salvation was in re- 
treat. They turned about, and rushed back across the 
bridge, with the frail hope that they might be able to 
reach the Fort in safety. But they were met with a ter- 
rible shower of bullets, which came from the house of Mr. 
Meloche, and the neighboring orchards, where a large 
party of Indians were gathered. 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 119 

At last Captain Grant led his company up the hill and 
drove them from the house, and orchards, at the point of 
the bayonet. Here he was told by a friendly Frenchman 
that the Indians were hurrying down the road in great 
numbers, to take possession of the farm houses along the 
road, in order to cut off the retreat of the troops to the 
Fort. There was no other way of escape for the retreat- 
ing English, excepting along this road, that lay between 
the houses and the river, and behind each house was a 
little band of bloodthirsty savages. 

The soldiers fell back in marching order, with Grant 
in front and Dalzell in the rear, and started for the Fort. 
The Indians kept up a scattering fire for about half a 
mile, until they reached a point where the houses and 
barns were near together, forming a fine hiding place for 
the savages. The advance guard were allowed to pass 
unmolested, but when the center and rear guards ap- 
peared, the savages raised a frightful war whoop, and 
poured volley after volley among them. The men were 
panic stricken. They broke ranks in great disorder in 
their eagerness to escape the storm of bullets, and but for 
the bravery of Captain Dalzell, the retreat would have 
ended in a cowardly flight. Although he had already re- 
ceived two very severe wounds he did not falter, but ex- 
erted all his remaining strength to check the stampede. 
Some of the soldiers he encouraged, some he threatened, 
and some he beat with the flat of his sword, until order 
was restored and the fire of the enemy returned with 
good effect. 

By this time it was near daylight, but a thick fog 
had risen from the water, and settled down among the 



120 WHEX MICHIGAX WAS NEW 

trees, and over the houses. Although the Indians were 
not in sight, the sound of their voices, mingling with the 
terrific war whoops, and the constant flashing of the 
guns, confused the soldiers and drowned the voices of 
the commanding officers. During this terrible confusion 
the savages were darting here and there, through the 
mist, cutting down the stragglers, and scalping the fallen, 
both dead and alive. 

Just at this time a wounded sergeant managed to 
raise himself on his shattered elbows, and with a despair- 
ing look on his face, gazed at his receding comrades. 
Dalzell saw him, and though already faint from the loss 
of blood, rushed out to rescue him. A well aimed shot 
struck him, and the brave Captain fell dead. Very few 
of the men saw him, but those who did were so harassed 
by the pursuing Indians that they could not turn back 
to recover his body. 

The death of Captain Dalzell placed Major Rogers in 
command. In order to protect the retreat he took pos- 
session of the Campau House, which stood midway be- 
tween the bridge and the Fort, and gave a good view of 
the road in both directions. The house was a large, and 
a strong one, and here were gathered all the women and 
children of the neighborhood. They were crowded in the 
cellar to protect them from .the flying bullets. Mr. Cam- 
pan, the master of the house, stood on the trap door to 
keep the frightened soldiers from seeking refuge with 
them. 

All was in a state of wild confusion. While some of 
the soldiers searched for a hiding place, others found a 
keg of whiskey and drank it with much relish. Others, 



EARLY HISTOEY OF DETROIT 121 

more sensible and cautious, barricaded the doors and 
windows with packs of furs and furniture, and all other 
solid articles within reach. Panting and breathless, they 
pushed their muskets through the openings and fired at 
random upon the whooping savages. The screams of 
the frightened, half smothered women in the cellar, the 
horrible war whoops, and the shouts and curses of the 
soldiers, mingled together in a terrible confusion, and it 
was a long time before Major Rogers could restore order. 
Meantime Captain Grant, with the advanced party, had 
taken possession of some houses farther down the road, 
and as the soldiers approached, he was able to guard 
their retreat. In this way the detachments moved along 
from house to house, until at last they succeeded in reach- 
ing the Fort, where they found the bateaux with their 
ghastly cargo of wounded and dead. 

This battle is known in history as the Battle of 
Bloody Bridge. 

THE MACKINAW MASSACRE 
1763 

An- eakly writer gives the following description of 
Fort Mich-ili-mack-i-nac in 1763 : 

It was located near the water, on the site of the pres- 
ent city of Mackinaw. Outside the enclosure and near it 
was a cluster of small white houses roofed with bark and 
protected by fences of strong, round pickets. As the 
visitor entered the gate of the Fort he saw a large square, 
surrounded by high palisades, and within this square 
was a smaller square, surrounded by numerous houses, 



122 WHEN" MICHIGAN" Wx\S NEW 

barracks, and otlier buildings. The space wbicli they en- 
closed was the public square, the meeting place for all 
classes. There were the British soldiers in their red uni- 
forms, the hardy Canadians in their gray coats, and the 
Indians in their buckskin garments and gaudy blankets, 
and strolling restlessly among theia were a multitude of 
squaws, with their papooses on their backs. 

There were about thirty families within the palisades 
of the Fort and as many more living in the houses out- 
side. 

There were two tribes of Indians who owned the land 
in that region, the Ottawas and the Chippewas. The 
principal village of the Chippewas was on Mackinaw 
Island. Both of these tribes had received from Pontiac 
the war belt of purple and black wampum, and the 
painted hatchet, and both had pledged themselves to join 
him in his attacks on the Borderland posts. In the 
spring of 1763 the Chippewas received word that Detroit 
had been attacked by the Indians. This news greatly ex- 
cited them, and they began to make plans for an imme- 
diate attack on Fort Mich-ili-mack-i-nac. 

The fourth of June was the King^s birthday, and all 
the Indians who were loyal to the British, prepared to 
celebrate it by playing a game of Bagattaway on the 
stretch of level, open ground, near the Fort. They in- 
vited all the soldiers, the officers, and the Commandant 
to witness the game. 

This game was played with a bat about four feet 
long and one inch in diameter, and a large, hard ball. 
On one end of the bat was a small, stiff hoop, with a net- 
work of cord loosely woven across it. The players were 



EARLY HISTOKY OF DETROIT 123 

not allowed to touch the ball with their hands, but caught 
it in the net at the end of the bat. Tall posts were 
planted at each end of the playground. These posts 
marked the goal of the two parties, and were a mile or 
more apart. The game consisted in each party striving 
to keep the ball away from their own goal, and to carry 
it to the goal of their adversaries. At the beginning of 
the game both parties gathered half way between the 
posts. The ball was tossed high into the air and each 
one tried to catch it as it fell. The one who got it, held 
it high above his head and started for his opponent's 
goal. The whole party, with merry shouts and yells, fol- 
lowed after him in hot pursuit. If he was in danger of 
losing it, he threw it with all his might towards his 
opponent's goal. Some one of his opponents caught it 
and sent it whizzing back in the opposite direction. Back 
and forth the ball flew, now to the right, and now to the 
left, now near to one goal, and now nearer to the other, 
with the whole band crowding after each other in the 
wildest confusion. It is a very exciting game, and some- 
times the sun would set and find the game unfinished. 
When this happened, they would begin again on the fol- 
lowing morning. It often happened that six or seven 
hundred Indians would play together in a single game. 

iVmong the prominent English fur traders in Micli- 
ili-mack-i-nac at that time was Alexander Henry, who 
was an eye witness and almost a victim of that wholesale 
butchery known in history as the Mackinaw Massacre. 
He had heard rumors of a proposed attack on the Fort, 
but as the commandant refused to believe the story, and 
threatened to arrest any person who repeated it, he paid 



124 WHEX MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

no attention to the matter, and continued trading with 
the Indians as usual. 

The game of Bagattaway, which the Indians played 
on that memorable occasion, was the most exciting sport 
in which the red men could engage. There were between 
six and seven hundred players from the two opposing 
tribes, the Chippewas and the Sioux, In the heat of the 
contest, when all were running at their greatest speed, 
if one stumbled and fell, fifty or a hundred who were in 
close pursuit and unable to stop, would stumble over him, 
forming a mound of human bodies, sometimes crushing 
and bruising several of the players so that they were 
unable to proceed with the game. All this noise, con- 
fusion and violence were especially planned to divert the 
attention of both officers and men from their duties. To 
make their success more certain, the Indians had induced 
as many of the soldiers as possible to come outside of the 
Fort, that they might have a better view of the game, 
while at the same time, the squaws, well wrapped in their 
blankets, beneath which they concealed the murderous 
weapons that were to be used later, were placed inside 
of the enclosure. The plot was so carefully planned that 
no one suspected danger. The soldiers were strolling 
about without their guns, watching the sport, and even- 
when the ball was thrown high in the air and fell inside 
of the enclosure, followed by several hundred savage 
warriors, all struggling and shouting, no alarm was felt, 
imtil the shrill war whoop told the startled garrison that 
the work of slaughter had actually begun. 

While the game was in progress, Mr. Henry was 
busily engaged in writing letters to his friends in Mon- 





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126 WHEiST MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

treal, when he heard the war whoop. He rushed to the 
window which looked out on the liorrible sight. The 
savages were tomahawking and scalping every English- 
man they could see. Officers and men were struggling 
heljDlessly in their grasp. Women and children, scream- 
ing and cr^dng, as they clung to husbands and fathers, 
were thrust aside or trampled under feet, among the 
dead and dying. And everywhere, amid the frightful 
carnage, were the Indians, with their dripping toma- 
hawks and scalping knives, searching for more victims. 

One strange fact attracted the attention of Mr. Henry. 
The French inhabitants were not molested. They re- 
mained in their homes calmly watching the terrible 
slaughter, but made no effort to prevent it. Mr. Henry 
now began to fear for his own safety. His next door 
neighbor was a Frenchman named Langlade. There was 
only a low fence between the two houses, and he decided 
to climb it, and seek safety among his French friends. 
He found the whole family at the windows. No attention 
was paid to him, until he asked Mr. Langlade to hide him 
in a safe place until the massacre was over. His request 
was met with a careless shrug of the shoulders, and he 
was told that nothing could be done for him without 
endangering the family. 

As Mr. Henry turned away, he was met by a Pawnee 
woman, one of Mr. Langlade's slaves. She beckoned 
him to follow her. She led the way to the garret, closed 
and locked the door and took the key away with her. 
Through a crack between the logs he could see the sav- 
ages still engaged in their bloody work, shrieking and 
whooping, as they danced around their dying victims. 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 127 

At last he heard the cry: ''It is finished; no more Eng- 
lishmen." And then they came rushing into the house 
where he was secreted. Only a single layer of boards 
separated the garret from the room below, and he could 
hear what they said. They were hunting for any stray 
Englishman who might have escaped from their toma- 
hawks. 

Mr. Langlade gave them permission to search the 
house, and led the way to the garret. Some time elapsed 
after they arrived at the door before the key could be 
found, giving Mr. Henry an opportunity to secrete him- 
self among some birch bark mokoks that were piled in a 
corner. Four Indians entered the room, all armed with 
tomahawks. Mr. Henry was almost afraid to breathe, 
and he felt sure that they could hear the loud beating of 
his heart. They walked in every direction about the gar- 
ret, and at times were so near him that he could have 
touched them, but fortunately for him, the room was not 
very light, and his clothes were nearly the same color as 
the mokoks. After walking round and round the room, 
and telling Mr. Langlade how many Englishmen they 
had killed and how many scalps they had taken, they 
gave up the search and went away. 

Very early the next morning the Indians came to the 
house again. They told Mr. Langlade that they were 
searching for an Englishman named Henry, who was not 
among the dead, and once more they entered the garret. 
Mr. Henry, now satisfied that any further attempt at con- 
cealment was useless, gave himself up as lost. Among 
the Indians, who were all intoxicated, was a chief named 
"Wenniway, whom he recognized as an acquaintance. This 



128 WHP]X MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

Indian seized him by the collar and held a large knife in 
front of him, as if about to thrust it into his heart. Eut 
he soon dropped his arm and said : 

^^No, I will not kill you. I will take you in place of 
my brc ^er, whom I have lost. And you shall be called 
Musingen, as he was called, and you shall come with me 
to my lodge. ' ' 

Although Mr. Henry was much relieved at the turn 
his affairs had taken, he was not pleased with the idea of 
venturing among the excited, drunken savages. He 
begged his new brother to allow him to remain where 
he was until later, when the Indians would become stupe- 
fied with drink and fall asleep. His request was granted, 
and again he entered the garret. 

But he was not allowed to remain very long. In about 
an hour another Indian visited him, and said that Wen- 
niway had sent for him. Although Mr. Henry's sus- 
picions were aroused, he took the advice of Mr. Langlade 
and consented to go. Before leaving the house, the Indian 
obliged Mr. Henry to exchange clothes with him, which 
was rather a bad bargain for the trader, as the Indian's 
entire suit consisted only of a long filthy shirt. 

When they reached the gate of the Fort, Mr. Henry 
started to pass through it but the Indian seized him, and 
dragged him in the opposite direction. He was now pre- 
pared for the worst and refused to go any farther. The 
Indian became furious. He drew his knife and prepared 
to use it, when by a sudden jerk and a push, Mr. Henry 
sent him floundering among the bushes and started on a 
swift run toward the Fort. He entered the gate with 
the Indian at his heels, flourishing the knife and foaming 



EAELY HISTOKY OF DETROIT 129 

at the mouth with rage. Fortunately for the trader, his 
Indian brother Wenniway was in the Fort at the time, 
and came to his assistance. 

Although the most of the English were killed during 
the Massacre, a few managed to secrete themselves until 
the fury of the savages had abated. These, with Mr. 
Henry, were all held as prisoners by the Indians. Among 
them was Major Ethrington, the Commandant of the 
Fort, and two of his Lieutenants. 

After passing through many thrilling, terrifying ad- 
ventures, during which the Englishmen were forced to 
submit to all the cruel tortures known to savagery, the 
Commandant was able to send two messengers for help, 
one to Major Gladwin at Detroit, and one to the Com- 
mandant of the Fort at Green Bay. As Detroit was 
already in a state of siege, with Pontiac and his savage 
warriors at her gate, no assistance could be secured from 
that quarter. But at Green Bay the messenger was more 
fortunate. The Commandant of that Fort, with a com- 
pany of soldiers and a large body of friendly Indians, 
started out to help them. 

The Indians were opposed to releasing their prisoners 
without a struggle. Several days passed and many coun- 
cils were held before the Englishmen were given up. On 
the 18th of July, 1763, all that remained of the English 
garrison left the place protected by an escort of friendly 
Indians, arriving in safety at Montreal on the 13th of 
August. 

Not a British soldier was left in the Borderland 
region except those at Detroit. For p little more than 
a year after the Massacre at Fort Mich-ili-mack-i-nac 



130 



WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 



the place was occupied only by the coureurs du bois, and 
roving bands of Indians. But after the treaty with the 
Indians, Captain Howard with a large force of troops 
was sent to take possession of the place, and once more 
the English flag was unfurled over the Fort. 



OLD DETROIT 



•"<i| 



IaSj^'.^I 




DETROIT IN 1813. 

Detkoit is the oldest city in the Lake region. It was 
first visited by the French in 1610, and for one hundred 
and fifty years after it was under the dominion of France. 

In 1760 it was transferred to England and the British 
flag floated over the little village for thirty-six years. 

In 1796 the American government took possession of 
Detroit, when the first flag that ever waved in Michigan 
bearing the Stars and Stripes was unfurled over the Fort 
built by the British in 1788, during the American Revo- 
lution. 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 131 

Sixteen years later, in 1812, Detroit was surrendered 
to the English, and once more the British flag floated 
over the Fort. 

One year later, in 1813, Detroit again came into pos- 
session of the Americans and the Stars and Stripes were 
again nnfnrled, where they have waved continuously ever 
since, through a period of nearly one hundred years. 

The third year after Cadillac founded the town, the 
Indians set fire to it, but the fire was discovered before 
much injury was done. About the same time a war party 
paraded before the town and tried to persuade the 
friendly Indians to join them in an attack. De Tonti 
was in command at the time. 

There were three Indian villages in the vicinity of the 
Fort. The Hurons and the Pottawatamies were on the 
north shore of the river and the Ottawas on the south. 

In May, 1712, the town was again attacked by the 
Indians. At this time Du Buisson was commandant with 
but twenty soldiers. The Indians of the three villages, 
who were friends of the whites, were all away hunting. 
Preparations were made for the defense and messengers 
were sent to call the hunters to their assistance. Soon 
after the attack was commenced the village Indians ap- 
peared in their war paint, all ready for battle. A fierce 
struggle and a long siege followed. Many of the thatched 
houses were burned by the flaming arrows of the Indians. 
Some were saved by covering them with wet skins. 

At last the commandant became discouraged, and was 
tempted to leave the Fort and return to Mackinaw. But 
his Indian allies were opposed to this movement. They 
danced their war dance and sang their war songs and 



132 WHEN MICfflGAN WA?; NEW 

again renewed their attacks on the enemy, filling the 
small Fort where they were sheltered with the dead and 
dying. 

On the nineteenth day of the siege a great storm 
arose. Dnring the night the enemy abandoned their en- 
trenchment and fled with their women and children to 
the peninsnla which reaches out into Lake St. Clair, now 
known as Grosse Point. Here they were again attacked 
by the French and their Indian allies and all but the 
women and children were killed. 

The struggle for the control of the western continent 
was a long and bitter one. But with the great decisive 
battle between Wolfe and Montcalm, followed by the fall 
of Quebec, the power of the French in the new world was 
broken, and on the eighth of September, 1760, Montreal 
and all its colonies, which included not only Detroit but 
all the Borderland region, was surrendered by France to 
the English. Soon after this happened a force of Eng- 
lish troops under command of Major Robert Rogers took 
possession of the Fort. The Lily of France, which had 
waved over the little village for nearly sixty years, was 
lowered, and in its place the Red Cross of England was 
unfurled to the breeze. The French troops were sent to 
Philadelphia, but the inhabitants were allowed to remain 
in possession of their homes. 

The Indians were not at all pleased with the change. 
They were friendly with the French, who had always 
treated them in a fair and honorable manner, and by so 
doing had won their confidence and respect. But their 
treatment by the English was entirely different. They 
were dishonest in their dealings with them, overbearing 



F.AFJA insTOnV OF DETROIT 133 

and cruel. In consequence of this treatment the Indians 
became the bitter enemies of their oppressors. All the 
savagery in their nature was aroused. They were ever 
on the war path, with tomahawks and scalping knives 
ready for action. The whole region became a scene of 
war and carnage. 

These terrible conditions at last led up to what is 
known as the Conspiracy of Pontiac, a plot which has no 
equal in the whole history of savage nations. The great 
chief was determined to bring about a complete ex- 
termination of the hated invaders. Late in the fall of 
1762, he held his famous council on the banks of the River 
Ecorces, eight miles below Detroit. Delegates from all 
the tribes of the great Northwest were present. Every 
detail of the plot was carefully considered. The whole 
thirteen Forts which stretched along the Borderland from 
Niagara to Mackinaw, from Pittsburg to the Mississippi, 
were to be attacked at the same time. The scheme was 
almost a complete success. Ten Forts were destroyed. 
Detroit was one of the three that escaped. 

During the American Revolution, British troops were 
stationed at Detroit under command of Major Lernoult. 
The continued successes of the Americans and the pos- 
sibility that they might continue their march to Detroit 
led Major Lernoult to erect a large earth Fort back of the 
village, on what was called the second terrace. This Fort 
was called Fort Lernoult, which name it bore until 1813, 
when it was changed to Fort Shelby in honor of Governor 
Shelby of Kentucky. The old Fort Ponchartrain was 
abandoned. There was a covered passageway leading 
from the village to the new Fort. The ammunition was 



134 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

stored here, and it was also used by the citizens when the 
village was threatened by the Indians. 

There were about sixty houses in the village at this 
time, all built of logs, some round with the bark still on, 
and some hewn square. There was one two stories high, 
which stood near the east gate of the Fort. This was 
called ^'The King's Palace. '^ There were twenty-four 
men in each of the two guard houses, the gates were shut 
at sunset and the keys delivered to the commandant. No 
Indian or squaw was allowed to enter the town with a 
gun, tomahawk or knife. They were left with the sen- 
tinel, who delivered them to the owner when he went out. 
Not more than twenty-five Indians were allowed in the 
town at one time and when the sunset drum beat they 
were all compelled to leave. 

The streets were all very narrow. Just inside the 
stockade was a street somewhat wider than the others, 
called the ^^chemin du rond,'' which encircled the town. 
An early writer has told us about the different classes of 
people who were sometimes seen on the streets of the 
village, after the English had secured some of the Indians 
as their allies, in their battles with the Americans. 

*^ Troops of squaws, bending under their loads of bas- 
kets and skins, moved along the way. Rough coureurs 
du bois, with bales of beaver, mink, and fox skins, were 
passing to and from the trading stores, and leaning upon 
the half open doors were laughing demoiselles, who 
cheered or teased their favorites. Here a group of 
Indians were drying fresh scalps on hoops over a fire, 
while others, with scalps hanging from their elbows, were 
dancing the war dance. Indian dandies, with belted 



EAELY HISTORY OF DETROIT 



135 



tomahawks, and deerskin leggings fringed with beads of 
many colors, moved noiselessly along with blankets of 
scarlet cloth, guns heavy with silver ornaments and half 
moons, and gorgets of the same material adorning their 
person. Staid old justices, with powdered cues, ex- 
changed salutes with the officers of the garrison, who 
were brilliant with their scarlet uniforms, gold lace and 




LADIES MAKING CALLS IX OLD FRENCH CART 

sword knots. Elegant ladies, with crimson silk petti- 
coats, immense bee hive bonnets, high heeled slippers, 
and black silk stockings, tripped along the narrow streets. 
And above all the hum of the moving, talking crowd, 
arose the shouts of the drunken soldiers imprisoned in 
the guard house, and at times the clattering hoofs of the 
Indian ponies as they went galloping through the town." 
After the downfall of Pontiac, and during the War 



136 WHEN MICHIGAX WAS NEW 

of the Revolution, there was ahuost constant warfare. 
The Indians were continually on the war path, swooping 
unexpectedly, and scalping and tomahawking the unpro- 
tected women and children, burning their homes, and 
committing all sorts of horrible deeds. When the hideous 
war cry sounded from the depths of the forest back of 
the Fort, there was wild confusion through all the 
near-by settlements. The frightened little ones screamed 
in terror and clung to their parents, who were making 
hurried preparations for removal to the Fort. The sick 
and the aged were drawn to the enclosure on sledges. 
Every precaution was taken to provide for a long siege 
if they were forced to remain in the Fort. Provisions, 
bedding and clothing were strapped to the backs of the 
boys and girls, and so familiar did these scenes become, 
that the younger boys would carelessly run about, bend- 
ing under their loads, mimicking the war cries of the 
Indians. 

Two different armies were sent out by the United 
States government to subdue the Indians, but both were 
unsuccessful. The Indians were worse than ever when 
they found that the government was powerless to protect 
the poor settlers. 

In 1793 General Anthony Wajme became commander 
of the Western army, and he immediately started out on 
a march to the Borderland. He pushed boldly forward 
through the wilderness, fighting and scattering the In- 
dians, destroying their forts, villages and corn fields, 
so completely defeating them, that their power as a 
nation was forever broken. 

On the eleventh day of July, 1796, Detroit passed 



EAELY HTSTORY OF DETROIT 137 

into the possession of the United States. The British 
troops inarched out after they had spitefully broken all 
the windows in the garrison, filled the well with stones, 
and locked the gates behind them. The American troops, 
under General Porter, broke the locks and entered the 
Fort. The Red Cross of England was lowered, and the 
Stars and Stripes were unfurled for the first time over 
the site of Detroit. 

But the poor, harrassed Detroiters had scarcely had 
time to become accustomed to the new peaceful conditions 
when the war of 1812 broke out. There was great excite- 
ment in Detroit and all along the Borderland. Again 
were the scattered bands of Indians thoroughly aroused, 
and were constantly engaged in their savage work. 
Scarcely a night passed that the settlers were not listen- 
ing for the war whoop which gave warning of an attack 
on their homes. They slept with their loaded rifles by 
their bedside and muttered a prayer each night for the 
safety of their loved ones. 

But at last the final battle was fought. Peace fol- 
lowed war. The Stars and Stripes again floated over 
the old town. The red men and the white men were 
friends. The little village gradually settled down to a 
simple, quiet life that was restful and charming. These 
old Detroiters had no aspirations above the level of their 
simple environment. Theirs was an atmosphere of con- 
tentment and happiness. 

They enjoyed few luxuries and their necessities were 
of the simplest kind and easily satisfied. They had no 
matches. They lighted their fires with a flint and steel, 
or borrowed a burning stick from a neighbor and ran 



138 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

with it to their own fireplace. They had no lamps, gas 
or electricity. At first they lighted their homes with 
blazing pitch pine, which was plentiful everywhere in the 
forest. Sometimes a strip of cloth, placed in a dish of 
melted deer tallow, and lighted at one end which hung 
over the side, served as a lamp, although it often proved 
a smoky one. The first candles were made of rushes, 
dipped in deer tallow, then candle wicking was used in- 
stead of rushes. Candlesticks were very scarce, and 
many queer substitutes were used. A bottle, two wooden 
pegs driven into the wall near together, a potato or a 
turnip with the center removed, or a piece of wood hol- 
lowed out, all served the purpose. 

Wool from the sheep's back was carded into rolls, 
spun into yarn, woven into cloth, and made into clothing, 
in the homes of the people. Tea and coffee were very 
expensive. Wintergreens, sage and catnip were used for 
tea. Coffee was made of parched oats, peas or barley, 
and also of toasted bread crusts. The latter was called 
crust coffee, and was used more especially by old people 
and invalids. 

The citizens of this unique community were very fond 
of pleasure and amusements. Their recreations were in- 
nocent and very simple. During the summer, when the 
work of the day was all finished, the elders exchanged 
visits with each other or promenaded along the sandy 
beach and on the green lawns beneath the great pear 
trees; the young people paddled their slender canoes 
over the blue water to the music of their own voices or 
danced in some of the cottages. There were fiddles and 
jewsharps in every house and the sound of music float- 



EARLY HISTORY OF DETROIT 139 

mg out on the evening air would soon attract a sufficient 
number for a cotillion or a French Four at any time. 

But not until winter came and the river was covered 
with a solid bridge of ice did the pleasure season really 
open. There was nothing now to mar their happiness or 
to interfere with their merrymakings. Business of all 
kinds was for the time suspended and only the most 
necessary household labors were performed. There was 
no more trading with the Indians. They had all gone to 
their winter homes in the forest. There were no crops 
to be cultivated, no furs to be cured and packed, no 
canoes to be loaded. And now each member of the com- 
munity turned his thoughts to feasting and pleasure and 
furnishing entertainment for each other. There was a 
continuous succession of dinner, dancing, and card 
parties, with skating and sleigh riding between times. 

The tough little French pony was the favorite horse. 
These ponies were raised in large numbers and were 
allowed the freedom of the village streets. The vehicle 
in common use by all classes was the Norman cart. It 
was a light two-wheeled wagon with a low railing along 
the sides. It was used altogether during the muddy 
season. When the ladies of old Detroit wished to make 
a fashionable call they would seat themselves on a fur 
robe in the bottom of the cart while the driver sat on a 
comer of the box in front. It was not an unusual thing 
for the box to tip up and spill the finely dressed lady in 
the mud. In summer, the calache, a two-wheeled hooded 
carriage, was sometimes used. 

The French cariole was a box sleigh, with carved 
wooden runners. The long thills were bent outward and 



140 WHE^ MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

were strapped together at the ends, giving the little pony- 
all sorts of liberties when pacing or trotting. 

A few miles above the Fort was a large marsh, which 
the settlers called Le Grand Marais. It extended along 
the river and lake shore for several miles. During the 
summer it was a green watery meadow, a favorite haunt 
for the waterfowl and also for the Indian hunter. But 
after the autumn rains fell the grass and rushes were 
entirely covered with water which the frosts of winter 
changed to a field of ice. This was the favorite locality 
for horse racing and sleigh riding. 

Each season, as soon as the ice became smooth and 
solid, the young men would send out invitations to all 
able-bodied citizens to attend a bee and assist in the erec- 
tion of the Hotel Du Grand Marais. This was a rude, 
temporary affair, built and demolished annually, but it 
was well adapted to the requirements of the times. It 
was a long, low building placed on the ice a short dis- 
tance from the shore. A huge cobblestone fireplace was 
built at each end. The furnishings were rough tables and 
benches. This was a general gathering place for the 
young and middle aged, through the long, cold winter. 

Saturday was the gala day of the week. Early in the 
morning, a long procession of carioles, with their oc- 
cupants well wrapped in warm Indian blankets and 
buffalo robes glided over the glassy surface of the ice- 
bound river, or dodged the snowdrifts that stretched 
along the river road. The capacious box seats of the 
carioles were well filled with boxes and baskets and many 
mysterious packages. These were placed on the tables 
and amid the happy laughter and gay chatter of the 



EARLY HlSTOin OF UETKOIT Ul 

vivacious French maidens the dinner was prepared. As 
soon as it was over, the tables and benches were removed, 
and they commenced dancing, and they continued danc- 
ing, hour after hour, until the evening gun at the Fort 
warned them to hasten home, lest some prowling band 
of unfriendly savages might lie concealed in the dark- 
ness, awaiting an opportunity to lift their scalps or take 
them prisoners. 

The next morning the gentlemen of Old Detroit, after 
attending faithfully to their Sabbath-day duties in the 
little church of Ste. Anne, would return to the Hotel Du 
Grand Marais, and spend the remainder of the day in 
carousal, and feasting on the remains of yesterday ^s 
dinner. 



MICHIGAN FROM 1783 TO 1837 



MICHIGAN'S FIRST MOTTO 
THE SPROUT AT LENGTH BECOMES A TREE, 



Although the War of the Revolution was ended, and 
the treaty of peace between the United States and Great 
Britain was signed, the difficulties between the two coun- 
tries were not over. The English, who were still in pos- 
session of the posts along the Borderland, refused to 
withdraw their troops. This caused unfriendly feelings 
between the two nations, and left affairs in a very un- 
settled condition. Baron Steuben was sent to Quebec by 
General Washington, to make arrangements for the 
occupation of these posts by the American troops. But 
he was informed by the officers in command of the place 
that the English would not vacate the posts and he was 
also refused passports for his return journey to Niagara 
and Detroit. 

This was not the only difficulty that confronted the 
American government at this time. A grand council of 
Indians was held near the mouth of the Detroit river. 
At this council there were delegates from all the differ- 
ent tribes of the Great Northwest, and the principal 
question discussed was that of boundary lines. The 

142 



MICHIGAN FROM 1783 TO 1837 143 

Indians claimed that the Americans had no title to any 
land north of the Ohio river. It was believed by the 
Americans that the English were to blame for this up- 
rising of the Indians, as such a movement would hinder 
an attempt to occupy the Borderland. 

About this time, Alexander McKenzie, an agent of 
the British government, visited Detroit. He was dressed 
like an Indian, in full war paint and feathers. He 
claimed that he had just returned from a visit to the re- 
mote tribes of the Northwest. He said they were all on 
the war path and ready to battle with the Americans, 
should they attempt to claim this region. 

Although these stories were false, being invented by 
the English to further their plans, they succeeded in ex- 
citing and arousing the Indians. Bands of savage war- 
riors armed with tomahawks and scalping knives were 
soon hastening toward the posts. This movement led 
to the formation of the great Indian confederacy against 
the Americans, equalling in power and number that which 
had been planned twenty-five years before, by Pontiac 
against the English. The Indians became aggressive, 
making frequent attacks upon the remote posts. The 
deadly war whoop was followed by massacres, torture 
and butchery. This led the American government to 
send General Harmer with a body of men to quell the 
disturbance. He was unsuccessful in his undertaking 
and was defeated by a large party of Indians. He was 
succeeded by General St. Clair, who advanced into the 
Indian country with two thousand men. This army was 
also defeated b}^ the Indians and compelled to retreat. 

An effort was now made to increase the army to such 



144 WHEF MICHIGAN AYAS NEW 

a size tliat defeat wonld be impossible. The following 
year General Anthony Wa^oie succeeded General St. 
Clair as commander of the western army. He advanced 
through the forest to the place that marked the defeat 
of General St. Clair; here he built a Fort which he 
called Fort Eecovery. At the rapids of the Maumee 
river he built another Fort where he stored his supplies. 
This he called Fort Deposit. Advancing farther into the 
wilderness he found an English post occupied by soldiers 
sent from Detroit to assist the Indians. It was at this 
place that the whole Indian force was gathered. They 
were in a dense forest, protected by the bank of the river 
and a breatswork of trees. A fierce battle soon followed, 
in which General Wayne was successful and completely 
routed the savages. The Indians were now subdued and 
a treaty was made which broke up the whole confederacy. 
The English, finding that their allies were conquered, 
made no further efforts to hold the posts and the Forts 
at Mackinaw and Detroit were surrendered to the Ameri- 
cans. But the retiring garrisons, to show their revenge- 
ful feelings, locked the gates, broke all the windows in 
the barracks, and filled the wells with stones. 

The Borderland was now in possession of the United 
States. What is now known as the State of Michigan 
was then a part of what was called the Northwest Ter- 
ritory, a large area of country which reached out to the 
north and west for a great distance. For a time the 
boundary lines of our state were unsettled but at last 
Michigan became a territory and William Hull was made 
its first Governor. 

Although a treaty of peace had been made with the 



MICHIGAX FEOM 1783 TO 1837 145 

Indians they were not inclined to be peaceable. They 
again became dissatisfied with the idea of giving up their 
land to the Americans and another confederacy of the 
tribes was formed, under the leadership of Tecumseh and 
his brother Elswatawa, who was called the prophet. 
While Tecumseh led the tribes on to war the prophet 
aroused them to a savage fury with his eloquence, as he 
pictured to them the wrongs they had suffered from the 
Americans. The savage brothers followed the plan of 
the great chief, Pontiac, which was to attack and destroy 
all the Borderland posts and drive their white enemies 
from the country. They sent messengers to the most 
distant tribes with presents and war belts to persuade 
them to join the confederacy. 

While these preparations for a general uprising were 
going on, the Territory of Michigan was in a very un- 
protected condition. The interior of the country was but 
little known except by the fur traders and the Indians. 
The only permanent settlements were those scattered 
along the waterways, and the entire population of the 
whole territory was less than five thousand. At last the 
settlers became aroused to a sense of their danger and a 
petition signed by all the principal residents of Detroit 
was sent to General Washington, asking for military pro- 
tection. Tecumseh had already gathered all his warriors 
and was ready for action. 

A body of troops was soon raised by order of General 
Washington and was put under command of General 
Hull, the Governor of Michigan. With this force he 
marched from the Ohio river toward Detroit. While on 
this march he received the news, that the Americans had 



146 WHEX MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

declared war against England. This war is known in his- 
tory as the War of 1812. 

The army reached Detroit and crossed the river, land- 
ing at a point opposite Belle Isle, near the site of the 
present town of "Walkerville. Although they expected to 
be attacked at any time, not an Indian was to be seen. 
They marched down the river shore, past the homes of 
the Canadian French, to a point opposite the Fort. The 
troops were greeted as friends by the inhabitants, hand- 
kerchiefs and flags waved a welcome from every house. 
A vacant, unfinished brick house, which belonged to Col- 
onel Baby, became headquarters for the army. General 
Hull issued a proclamation to the people, promising them 
protection to life and property so long as they remained 
neutral, but he warned them that the war would become 
a war of extermination if they joined the English or the 
Indians. He said that any man caught fighting by the 
side of an Indian would not be taken a prisoner but would 
be put to death. 

Here the troops remained for a whole month without 
action of any kind. They became impatient at the delay. 
They were expecting orders to march on Maiden, where 
the British troops were stationed, but any mention of 
such a movement was met with a prompt refusal by Gen- 
eral Hull. At last, when the troops were almost upon the 
point of rebelling, marching orders were received. The 
tents were struck and loaded on the wagons, but instead 
of moving down the road in the direction of the enemy, 
the wagons were driven to the landing and taken by the 
ferry boats across the river, and stationed on the com- 
mons north of the Fort. During the night the whole 



MICHIGAN FROM 1783 TO 1837 147 

army followed. This movement created much indigna- 
tion among the soldiers and a universal feeling that Gen- 
eral Hull had not only disgraced himself but also the 
whole army. This feeling grew stronger when it was 
learned that the enemy's forces had been reduced by 
desertion and were daily becoming weaker, so that they 
could have been easily put to flight had an attack been 
made. 

The troops had now lost all confidence in their com- 
mander. A consultation was held, and it was decided to 
start a ''Round Robin," which was a written document, 
signed by names in a circle, so as not to show who signed 
it first. This was addressed to the Colonels in the army, 
requesting the removal of General Hull, and the transfer 
of the command to the oldest officer, Colonel McArthur. 

At eleven o 'clock the next evening a boat approached 
the Fort from the Canadian side of the river, containing 
two men at the oars and two passengers. On being chal- 
lenged by the sentry, one of the passengers gave the 
countersign. They went directly to the headquarters of 
General Hull and remained there three hours. They then 
returned to the boat and crossed over to the Canadian 
shore. Now this circumstance may seem rather imim- 
portant as a historical fact but it resulted in one of the 
noted epochs in the history of Michigan. It was during 
this conference that Governor Hull planned the surren- 
der of the Fort and garrison to the English. And in a 
very short time this was accomplished without a struggle 
or the firing of a gun. The stars and stripes were low- 
ered and once more the English flag floated over the Fort. 
It was a disgraceful surrender and without a parallel. 



148 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

Whether General Hull was a traitor or a coward has 
never been really decided. 

The Borderland now became the scene of many bloody 
battles between the Americans and the English, with 
their hordes of savage allies. The settlers were kept in 
a constant state of terror and anxiety. The Indians com- 
mitted all sorts of atrocities and tomahawks and scalping 
knives were in constant nse. 

At last a naval battle, known in history as Perry's 
Victory, was fought on Lake Erie. The English were 
defeated and a passage was opened for the American 
forces to cross the Lake. After the battle Perry's fleet 
was used to convey the American army into Canada, 
where the English troops were stationed. They marched 
into Maiden and found it deserted. The Indians were 
furious at the action of the English commander, General 
Proctor, who had fled at the approach of the enemy. 
Tecumseh compared him to a fat cur sneaking off with 
his tail between his legs after making a great show of 
courage. To pacify them General Proctor agreed to 
make a stand at Moravian Town, on the River Thames, 
and await the threatened attack. 

The American army followed the river shore until 
they reached Sandwich, nearly opposite Detroit. A de- 
tachment crossed the river at this place, and took pos- 
session of the Fort, which the English troops had liastily 
J eft the day before. At the same time General Harrison 
with a large force was pursuing the enemy through the 
Canadian forests. The smaller vessels of Perry's fleet 
sailed up the River Thames, where they found General 
Proctor all ready for the attack. The battle was very 



MTCHICtAN from 17B3 TO 1837 14(^ 

brief. It lasted less than ten minutes. Nearly the whole 
force was captured. The few who escaped retreated at 
a high rate of speed with General Proctor in the lead. 
His brave ally, Chief Tecumseh, was shot and killed. 
Two years later a treaty of peace was made between 
England and the United States, and the War of 1812 was 
over. 

General Cass took Governor Hull 's place and became 
Governor of the Territory of Michigan. Although a 
delegate to Congress was elected it was several years 
before Michigan had any definite form of government. 
But at last the first Legislative Council met in the Coun- 
cil House in Detroit and listened to the Governor's first 
message. Seven years later Governor Cass was ap- 
pointed Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President 
Jackson. He retired from the office of Governor of 
Michigan after eighteen years' service. He had been 
appointed Governor six times under the three presidents, 
Madison, Monroe, and John Quincy Adams, and in all 
that time not a single vote was cast against him. 

The second Governor of the Territory of Michigan 
was General George B. Porter. The territory prospered 
during his administration. New townships were or- 
ganized, roads were constructed which opened up the 
wilderness to settlers. Banks and common schools were 
established and the first railroad was incorporated. This 
railroad was the one now known as the Michigan Central. 
The inhabitants now began to talk about becoming one 
of the United States. But before this was accomplished 
Governor Porter died. He was succeeded by the Secre- 
tary of the Treasur>^ Stevens T. Mason. A few months 



150 WHEK MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

later a constitution was framed and adopted by the peo- 
ple; a full set of State officers and a Legislature were 
elected to act under this constitution. 

But although the machinery for a State government 
was now iii full operation, the old question of Michigan \s 
boundary lines still remained unsettled. Ohio claimed a 
large portion of the southern part or the State. Until 
this matter was decided Congress could take no action 
in regard to the admission of Michigan into the Union. 
A long and bitter struggle between the two states for 
possession of the disputed section followed. This strug- 
gle is known in history as the Toledo War. Although 
many battles were fought with fist and tongue very little 
blood was shed. 

At last, upon the urgent advice of Congress, with a 
promise of a speedy admission into the Union, Michigan 
relinquished her claim to the land, receiving in turn that 
territory which is now known as the Upper Peninsula 
of Michigan. By this settlement, the boundary lines of 
Michigan were permanently established, and in 1837 the 
State was admitted into the Union. 

GENERAL HULL'S SURRENDER 
1805-1812 

When Michigan became a territory, Detroit was the 
principal settlement. Although it had been incorporated 
as a town it was still a mere hamlet. There were but 
nine other settlements of any importance in the whole 
Territory. These were along the waterways, some on 
the Huron and Raisin rivers of Lake Erie, several on the 



MICHIGAK" FROM 1783 TO 1837. 151 

Ecorce, Eouge, Detroit and St. Clair rivers, and one on 
the Island of Mackinaw. The total population of the 
whole Territory was less than five thonsand. 

The first Governor was William Hnll of Massachu- 
setts. T^Hien he arrived in Detroit with his executive 
force, which consisted of a secretary and three judges, 
he found his new home nothing but a smoldering bed of 
ashes. The story he heard was a sad one. Early in the 
preceding month fire had broken out in the settlement 
and spread right and left until nothing remained but 
two small buildings on the edge of the town. Steps had 
been taken to rebuild a few of the small log houses, but 
most of the people were still living in tents. 

The first duty of the new officials was to provide 
homes for the homeless. An act was passed to make the 
Governor and Judges a land board, with power to lay 
out a new town and convey a lot to every person over 
seventeen years of age who was a resident of the town at 
the time of the fire. The plan of the town resembled 
somewhat that of the National Capitol. It had its Cam- 
pus Martins and its Grand Circus, and radiating from 
these central points, were broad avenues that reached 
out like the spokes of a wheel, into the forest. This plan, 
around which the great city of Detroit has grown, is still 
called the Governor and Judges' plan. 

From the very beginning of Governor Hull's admin- 
istration there was much misunderstanding and lack of 
harmony between him and his associates. The new Gov- 
ernor had fought in many battles of the Revolution and 
had also ably served his country in various ways with 
honor to himself. His past life had been spent among 



152 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

congenial friends and associations. But now all was 
changed. The country was still in a rough, undeveloped 
state, and the people had assimilated with the conditions. 
He did not understand them any better than they under- 
stood him. He had come among them with high ideas of 
his own importance and his official position, while he 
lacked the necessary tact to make the rough characters of 
a backwoods settlement recognize his authority as their 
Governor. 

At this time affairs between the United States and 
Great Britain were in a very unsettled state and war 
between the two countries was threatened. To add 
further to the Governor's troubles, the Indians were pre- 
paring for a general uprising of all the tribes from the 
boundaries of New York to the Mississippi. The chief 
promoters of this movement were Tecumseh, and his 
brother Elswatawa, the Prophet. The plan was similar to 
the noted Confederacy of Pontiac, in the earlier days. 
Presents and war belts were sent to all the tribes in the 
Lake region to induce them to join the league. Early in 
the summer a great council of all the tribes was held on 
the shore of Lake Superior. It was addressed by a noted 
chief, who told them that he brought a message from the 
first man whom the Great Spirit had created. This mes- 
sage professed to be in the language of the Great Spirit 
himself. It was in part as follows : 

"I am the Father of the Spanish, thr- French and of the 
English, as well as of yourselves. I created the first man 
who was the common father of all these people. I have 
awakened him from his long sleep, that through him I 
may talk to you. But I did not make the Americans. 



MICHIGAN FROM 1783 TO 1837 153 

They are the children of the Evil Spirit. He caused a 
strong east wind to sweep over the waters of the Gitchee 
Gmnee (Lake Superior) and it troubled the waters, and 
the froth was driven far into the woods. From this scum 
he made the Americans. They are not my children. I 
could not come myself and talk to you, because the world 
is changed from what it was. It is broken now, and leans 
down. Soon all the tribes that do not listen to me will 
fall off and die.' ^ 

Tecumseh had gathered his warriors and was ready 
for action before any steps were taken by the general 
government for the protection of the frontier settle- 
ments. At last, by order of the President, a body of 
troops was collected in Ohio, and placed in command of 
General Hull. While on the march from Dayton towards 
Detroit dispatches were received from Washington an- 
nouncmg the declaration of war against England. On 
the 12th of July the army reached the Detroit river, 
which they crossed with the belief that they were to pro- 
ceed to Maiden, where the British forces were stationed. 
They landed at Sandwich, where they heard that Michili- 
mack-i-nac had fallen into the hands of the English. They 
took possession of a large unfinished brick house with 
immense grounds belonging to a Frenchman, Colonel 
Baby, which they made their headquarters. From this 
place General Hull issued a long proclamation to the 
Canadians, promising protection to life and property so 
long as they remained neutral. 

The troops were quartered here for four weeks, dur- 
ing which time very little was accomplished. Several 
small detachments pushed their way into the farming 



154 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

regions and secured some provisions. Another party 
under command of General Lewis Cass took possession 
of a bridge on the road to Maiden. The army was eager 
at this time to attack Maiden, but General Hull opposed 
it, although it was the common opinion that the English 
would have made but a slight resistance. 

On the evening of August 7 marching orders were 
given, tents were struck and loaded, and the wagon train 
was moving, but instead of going down the river in the 
direction of the enemy, it was driven to the landing and 
ferried across the river, and then stationed on the com- 
mon north of the Fort. Further orders were issued dur- 
ing the night to break up the camp and the whole army 
recrossed the river to Detroit. This act aroused great 
indignation among the soldiers, who felt that General 
Hull had disgraced himself. 

Soon after this General Brock, who had arrived at 
Sandwich with a force of British troops, sent a messenger 
to General Hull demanding the surrender of the Fort. 
This being refused, he opened tire, but with very little, 
effect. He then crossed the river in plain sight of the 
Americans at the Fort, landing at Springwells without 
any opposition from General Hull, and renewed his 
demands for surrender. General Hull, without a word of 
protest, immediately agreed to the demand of the enemy, 
only stipulating that the troops be paroled and the people 
and their property be protected. General Cass was so 
indignant that he broke his sword over his knee rather 
than surrender it to the enemy. 

And thus without a blow in its defense was the 



MICHIGAN FROM 1783 TO 1837 



155 



American flag lowered, and with Detroit all Michigan 
again passed into the hands of the British. 



LEWIS CASS 

Lewis Cass was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 
1782. At the age of seventeen he crossed the Alleghany 




OLD CASS HOUSE 



mountains on foot with his father ^s family to seek a 
home in the Great AYest which was at that time almost 
an unexplored wilderness. They settled in Marietta, 
Ohio. The boy had already received a good education in 
an Eastern college and upon his arrival at his new home 
he entered a lawyer's office and began the study of law. 



156 WTTKN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

He was admitted to tlie bar in Zanesville, Ohio, before he 
was twenty years of age and two years later he was 
appointed prosecuting attorney of the county. 

An early Detroiter, Solomon Sibley, tells us a little 
story about this young man who was destined to fill so 
important a place in the history of Michigan. Mr. Sibley 
was traveling through the wilderness on his way to 
Detroit. When he reached the Cass home he found the 
young pioneer and future statesman busily engaged in 
preparing a quantity of corn to make the johnny cake 
for supper. The nearest mill for grinding the corn was 
a long distance away, but the Indians had taught the 
pioneers how to make corn meal without the assistance 
of a mill. A large stump stood before his father's door. 
The top of this had been l)urned and hollowed out, in the 
same manner as the Indians hollowed their wooden 
canoes, thus forming a huge wooden bowl on a solid 
foundation. The corn had been placed in this bowl, and 
the lad was pounding it vigorously with a large hard- 
wood mallet, to change it into a coarse corn meal. The 
typical pioneer hospitality prevailed in the Cass home. 
The latchstring of every home hung on the outside of the 
door, and everybody was welcome to food and lodging at 
any time. The hungry traveler was cordially invited to 
share the evening meal of venison stew, bear ^teak and 
johnny cake, and a comfortable bed called a ''shake- 
down ' ' was prepared for him on the floor by the chimney 
corner. 

Lewis Cass was elected a member of the Ohio legis- 
lature when still a very young man, which position he 
held until he resigned and took up his sword in defense 



MICHIGAN FROM 1783 TO 1837 157 

of his country. At the beginning of the second war with 
England he enlisted in the American army at Dayton, 
Ohio, under General Hull, and was made Colonel of the 
Third Ohio Volunteers. Later he was promoted and 
became a Brigadier General. He helped to fight the bat- 
tles of this war, which ended in General Hull's surrender 
of Detroit to the English. 

In 1813 he was appointed Governor of the Territory 
of Michigan, which then included Wisconsin and Minne- 
sota. He held this office for eighteen years. He was also 
Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Territory, which 
brought him in contact with all the Indian tribes in the 
whole Northwest region. He spent much time traveling 
among them, making treaties and establishing agencies. 
He displayed wonderful tact in his management of the 
Indians. Through kindness and honorable treatment he 
obtained from them valuable tracts of land which were 
necessary for the development of the country and the 
opening up of this vast region for peaceful settlement by 
the whites. 

At this time there was not a road in all the Territory 
except the military road along the Detroit river. There 
were no steamboats and very few people. The popula- 
tion of the Territory was not more than six thousand, 
scattered over a long stretch of country and in a state of 
great destitution, owing to the calamities caused by the 
war. Families had been broken up, parents had been 
separated from their children, and children from each 
other; some had died on the battle fields and others had 
been massacred by the cruel savages. Food and all the 
necessaries of life were scarce and luxuries were un- 



158 



WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 



known. The Territory of Michigan was in this gloomy 
condition when General Cass became Governor. Civil 
government had to be established and laws made and 
practiced, before better conditions could be hoped for. 




CANDLESTICK, DEMIJOHN, SMOKING SET AND POCKETBOOK 
BELONGING TO GENERAL LOUIS CASS 

Through the wise and just management of Territorial 
affairs by Governor Cass during his long term of office 
conditions changed and the new country became pros- 
perous. 

In 1819 General Cass made an extended tour of the 
Lake Superior country for the purpose of learning more 
about the copper which the Indians had reported as being 
there in great abundance. He was accompanied by Henry 



MICHIGAN FROM 1783 TO 1837 15!) 

R. Schoolcraft and several other noted men of the times, 
besides a military escort, which consisted of ten United 
States soldiers. There were also .ten Canadian voy- 
ageurs to manage the canoes and ten Indians to act as 
hunters. These Indians were under the management of 
two interpreters. 

The party left Detroit on the 24th of May. The banks 
of the river were lined with people, who cheered the 
departing expedition with great enthusiasm. They 
reached Mackinaw on the 6th of June, having been de- 
tained several days on account of heavy storms. They 
were met with a salute from the guns of the Fort and all 
the inhabitants turned out to welcome them. They left 
the island on the 14th of June with an addition of twenty- 
two more soldiers to their party. In two days they 
arrived at Sault Ste. Marie, and camped for the night on 
the bank of the river. 

This place was the seat of government of the Chip- 
pewas and had been occupied as a military and trading- 
post for many years. As this section had already been 
granted by treaty to the wliites, the United States 
claimed that part that had been assigned to the French. 
General Cass determined to hold a council for settling 
the boundaries of the grant and thus avoid any further 
dispute over the matter. 

The next morning the council assembled in the 
marquee of the governor. The chiefs were all dressed in 
their finest costumes, decorated with a great profusion of 
feathers and a brilliant display of the medals which they 
had received from the British government. They i?n- 
tered the marquee in silence and seated themselves with 



160 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

all the native dignity of their race. The calumet, or 
peace pipe, was passed from mouth to mouth, each one 
drawing one whiff until all in the circle had expressed 
their friendliness. When the ceremony was finished the 
council was begun, and its object was explained to them. 
They paid the strictest attention to the interpreter's 
speech, but it was evident to all that they were not 
pleased with it. They were opposed to giving up the 
land and denied any knowledge of former grants having 
been given to the French or English. There was much 
arguing and disputing among themselves. While some 
opposed giving up the land at all, others were willing 
provided no military garrison would be established there. 
But General Cass informed them that the establishment 
of a garrison at that place was already settled. He said : 

"Just so surely as the sun will set to-night, just so 
surely will there be an American garrison sent to this 
place whether you give the grant or not. ' ' 

The Indians were surprised and almost shocked at 
his words. While they admired his bravery, they re- 
sented his opposition to their plan. His decisive action 
at once brought matters to a crisis. The Indians now 
began to quarrel among themselves. Shingabowassin, 
the head chief of the band, tried to quiet them. Shing- 
wauk, a savage warrior who had been on the warpath in 
1814 and still hungered for the smell of battle, would 
listen to nothing but extreme measures. The last one 
who spoke was Sasaba, a tall, stately chief dressed in a 
British uniform, with epaulettes on his shoulders. Dur- 
ing his speech he became wild and furious in his actions 
and when he had finished he struck his spear savagely 



MICHIGAX FROM 1783 TO 1837 161 

into the ground, drew it out again, and then left the 
marquee, kicking aside the presents that had been placed 
before him. The other Indians all followed him and the 
council came to a sudden end. 

As soon as the Indians reached their camp, which was 
on a small hill a short distance from the Americans, they 
raised the British flag and began to indulge in taunts and 
insults aimed at their white neighbors. Matters had now 
arrived at a crisis, which could only be averted by great 
wisdom and courage. But General Cass was equal to the 
emergency and he immediately ordered the military to 
take up arms. Then, calling to his interpreter, he pro- 
ceeded unarmed and alone to Sassaba's lodge. On reach- 
ing it, he tore down the British flag and trampled it 
under his feet. And then, in a loud voice, he warned the 
astonished braves that two flags of different nations 
could not fly over the same territory and that the red man 
must not raise any but the American flag; that if they 
again did so the United States would set a strong foot 
upon their necks and crush them to the earth. He then 
turned on his heel, and walked back to the marquee car- 
rying the crumpled flag in his hand. 

The Americans listened for the war whoop, but none 
was heard. The boldness and prompt action of General 
Cass overawed and subdued the Indians and before the 
day had passed the council was again convened and the 
treaty was signed by all the chiefs excepting the quar- 
relsome chief, Sassaba, whose conduct had so nearly 
resulted in a savage attack. 

Having accomplished their object the party once more 
started on their journey. They launched their canoes 



163 WHEX MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

upon the waters of Lake Superior and when near Pic- 
tured Rocks they overtook a band of Chippewas who had 
camped for the night. These Indians, who proved to be 
friendly and hospitable, welcomed the travelers to their 
lodges and entertained them with songs and dancing. On 




ANDIRONS, BELLOWS AND CANDLE-MOLDS USED IN THE OLD CASS 
HOMES TEAD— DETROIT 

the 25th of June they left Lake Superior and started for 
home, which they reached in safety, after having trav- 
eled four thousand miles. 

In the summer of 1821 General Cass started out in his 
birch-bark canoe for another long journey over stream 
and portage. There was still a tract of land within the 



MICHTGAX FROM 1783 TO 1837 1G3 

boundaries of Michigan that had not been added to the 
United States, and negotiations with the Indians were 
necessary to secure it. This time he followed a different 
route, his destination being Chicago. It was a long, 
roundabout journe}^ He left Detroit and went down to 
the mouth of the Maumee river. He went up that river 
for a distance, then across the country to the Wabash, 
and down that stream to the Ohio. He followed that 
river to its mouth, then up the Mississippi to the mouth 
of the Illinois and from there to Chicago. 

In 1831 General Cass was appointed Secretary of 
War in the Cabinet of President Jackson. He then re- 
tired from the office of Governor of Michigan, which he 
had filled for eighteen years. He had also served as 
Indian Commissioner during that time ; had secured nine- 
teen treaties with- the Indians by which the whites had 
acquired large tracts of land. A few years later he was 
appointed United States Minister to France. During his 
busy life he served as a public official for fifty-six years. 
He died in Detroit June 17, 1866. 



THE WALK-IN-THE-WATER. 

The first steamboat that sailed over the waters of the 
Great Lakes was launched in 1818, near the spot where 
the Griffon was built. She was three hundred and twenty 
tons burden. She was named The Walk-in-the- Water, 
after the chief of the Wyandotte Indians. Her first trip 
from Buffalo to Detroit was made in the fall of 1818. 
She was forty-four hours in making the trip, which was 



164 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

considered a wonderful event at that time. The Indians 
were very much surprised when they saw the "Big 
Canoe/' as they called it. moving against the current 
without sails or paddles. 

They gathered in groups along the shore, and ex- 
pressed their astonishment by shouting again, and again, 
"Ta-i-yah, Nichee.'' They had been told that a ''Big 
Canoe'' would soon come from "the noisy waters of 
Niagara," which, by order of the Father of the Che-mo- 
ke-mons (the Long Knives, or Yankees), would be drawn 
through the rivers and the lakes by the King of all the 
Fishes, the mammoth Sturgeon. They were satisfied that 
this was true when they saw the boat. Some of the 
ignorant French declared, when they saw her coming up 
the river, that it was an Evil Spirit spouting fire and 
smoke. 

The following quaint notice appeared in a New York 
City paper about that time : 

"The swift steamboat, Walk-in-the- Water, is intended 
to make a voyage early in the summer from Buffalo, on 
Lake Erie to Mackinaw on Lake Huron, for the convey- 
ance of company. 'This ship has so near a resemblance 
to the famous Argonautic expedition in the heroic ages 
of Greece, that expectation is quite alive on the subject. 
Many of our most distinguished citizens are said to have 
already engaged their passage for the splendid adven- 
ture. ' ' 

The Walk-in-the-Water made the round trip from 
Buffalo to Detroit regularly, once in two weeks, some- 
times bringing a hundred or more passengers. In No- 
vember, 1821, she was wrecked near Buffalo. 



MICHIGAN FROM 1783 TO 1837 165 

GABRIEL RICHARD 

1798-1832 

Gabriel Richard's name is prominent in the early his- 
tory of Detroit, and the Borderland region. He came to 
Detroit in 1798. At that time the houses were few and 
scattered. The industries were chiefly fishing, hunting, 
and the cultivation of the narrow French farms. There 
was no steam, no gas, and no electricity. There were no 
great sailing vessels or steamships on the water. Only 
the birch-hark canoes, the bateaux, and the clumsy dug- 
outs. All the houses faced the river, with the long line of 
dark forest for a background. 

Within the village boundaries was a square of land 
set apart for a church and cemetery. On this square one 
church after another had been built, as the colony grew 
in numbers, each one larger than the last, and all bearing 
the name of Ste. Anne. The fifth Ste. Anne stood on 
this square when Gabriel Richard arrived, and here he 
began his work as priest and missionary. 

His congregation was composed of the villagers, the 
habitans, whose farms bordered the river, and the In- 
dians who camped near the village or journeyed in their 
canoes along the waterways. In summer the settlers 
came to church in their light calashes, or Norman carts, 
drawn by the little shaggy French ponies, and in winter, 
well wrapped in native furs, they came in their carioles. 

Although Gabriel Richard was a priest and a mis- 
sionary, his work did not end here. There was hardly 
anything necessary to promote the interests of the little 
village that he did not undertake. He built churches, 



166 WHEN MICHIGA^T AYAS N^EW 

founded schools, set up the first printing press, preached, 
taught, and advised, and whatever he did, he did well. 

There were no newspapers, no books, and no schools 
when he first came to Detroit. Parents who wished to 
educate their children were obliged to send them to Mon- 
treal, Quebec, or some of the other cities in the far East. 
This was a great undertaking. It was a long journey 
and the trip must be made in an open boat. History 
tells us the story of two boys who were sent in this way 
in charge of some Dutch traders. It was nearly a year 
before their father heard anything about them. He then 
learned that their education was not progressing as he 
had expected. They had played truant so often that their 
lessons had been neglected and they had mingled so 
freely with the children of the Dutch settlers that they 
had almost forgotten their own language. 

The first schoolmaster in Detroit of whom we have 
any record was Jean Baptiste Rocoux. He came to the 
Borderland while the French were still in possession of 
the Fort, and taught the French children. Besides his 
duties as a schoolmaster he was also a tailor and made 
garments for the families of the French residents. 

There were no free schools for many years. The 
scholar's tuition was paid direct to the teacher. If the 
parents were too poor to pay the child grew up in 
ignorance. As the most of the parents were poor and the 
tuition was high, only a small proportion of the children 
were fortunate enough to learn to read and write. Be- 
sides the tuition, there were the books, pens and ink, all of 
which were more or less expensive. All the pens were 
made of prime goose quills, and it was the teacher's duty 



MICHIGAN FROM 1783 TO 1837 167 

to shape these quills into pens and to re-point them when 
they wore out. 

A little more than one hundred years ago Gabriel 
Richard founded the first free schools in Detroit. He 
first established a primary school for the younger chil- 
dren, and an academy for the higher education of young 
men. After these were well established, he decided to do 
something for the higher education of young women. 
There were no women teachers nearer than Montreal, but 
he overcame this difficulty in a novel manner.. He se- 
lected four young ladies from the leading families of 
Detroit, to whom he gave lessons in teaching. The names 
of these young ladies, who were the first female teachers 
in Detroit, were Elizabeth Williams, Angelique Campau," 
Elizabeth Lyon and Monique Labadie. 

The academy was opened under the management of 
these ladies, each of whom had a special department. It 
was conducted somewhat in the manner of our modern 
manual training schools. Besides the elementary 
branches the young women were taught how to work. 
They were instructed in cooking, sewing, knitting, spin- 
ning and weaving. There were several spinning wheels, 
both for wool and for flax, and looms for weaving. But 
this model school existed only for a short time. When 
everything was in a prosperous condition and the little 
village began to feel the effects of Gabriel Richard's 
enterprise a great calamit}^ overtook them. 

On the morning of June 11, 1805, the old town of 
Detroit was destroyed by fire. Nothing remained of all 
those happy homes but five small cabins on the outskirts 
of the village. Nothing of the church and schools except 



168 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

one tall chimney. It was a great misfortune for the 
people and a heavy loss for Gabriel Richard. But he 
was a brave man and although he felt the loss very much, 
he was not easily discouraged. As soon as possible he 
began to build another church. This church was also 
called Ste. Anne and was located on Larned street, a 
short distance east of Woodward avenue. It was about 
this time that he became a member of Congress from 
the Territory of Michigan. His entire salary for the 
term was used in the construction of this church. The 
work was slow and tedious through lack of funds, but as 
soon as the basement was finished his people gathered 
there for religious services. 

And now we come to a dark epoch in the history of the 
little village. Detroit was visited by an epidemic. The 
cholera was brought to the village in 1832 by the steamer 
Henry Clay. There were several hundred passengers, 
mostly soldiers, bound from Buffalo to Chicago, to take 
part in the Black Hawk war. By the time they reached 
Detroit river, there were thirteen cases of a mysterious 
sickness that no one understood. A part of the crew 
were permitted to land, and the boat was sent on to Fort 
Gratiot. But the disease spread so rapidly that she 
turned about and landed at Springwells, where the sick 
were taken ashore. From that time, cholera began rag- 
ing in the village of Detroit. It spread among the inhab- 
itants at a fearful rate. All business and pleasure were 
abandoned. Many became panic-stricken and fled to the 
forest to escape contagion. But even there they were 
stricken down and died where they fell. 

The smoke from burning pitch and tar and the steam 



MICHIGAN FROM 1783 TO 1837 169 

from dampened quick lime Imng like a mist over the vil- 
lage streets. During all the terrible excitement Father 
Richard braved the greatest dangers, forgetting himself 
in his love and care for others. He hurried from house 
to house, denying himself food or sleep, encouraging the 
well and ministering to the sick and dying. At last, when 
utterly wearied from the terrible strain of overwork, he 
was seized with the dreadful disease, and the little village 
mourned the loss of its faithful friend and benefactor. 

HABITANS 

The first French settlers along the Borderland of 
Michigan were the hardy race of people who had emi- 
grated from the provinces of Normandy and Brittany in 
France. They were mostly working men who had been 
sent out by the French government for the purpose of 
building posts and protecting the fur trade along the 
waterways. Their homes were located on both sides of 
the Detroit river, stretching along for a distance of about 
fifteen miles above and below the Fort. They were built 
of logs and stood very close together, like a continuous 
village, along the single street that followed the shore. 
The farms were very narrow, but reached out for a mile 
or more into the forest. Near each house was an orchard 
of apple and cherry trees and a group of tall French pear 
trees. 

There is somewhat of a mystery in connection with 
the origin of these old pear trees, although it is supposed 
that the seeds of the young trees were brought from 
France by the earliest settlers. The trees were immense 



170 



WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NKW 



in size, a hundred or more feet in height, with trunks 
from one to three feet thick. Every farmer had a 
grove of these trees, each of which produced from fif t}^ to 
a hundred bushels of the hiscious fruit. Although they 
were once so numerous and fruitful verv few are now in 




OLD FRENCH WINDMILL 

existence. Several years ago there was a grove of the 
trees still standing near the mouth of Lake St. Clair. 
There were twelve in all, eleven in a group, and one 
standing some distance away. They were called the 
twelve apostles, the single one bearing the name of Judas. 
The habitans were very poor farmers. Their crop 
consisted of a few scattered patches of corn and wheat, 
rudely cultivated, and their vegetable gardens in front 



MICHIGAN FROM 1783 TO 1837 171 

of the houses. They ground their grain in the windmills 
that were scattered along the banks of the Detroit river 
and Lake St. Clair. The windmills were built of solid 
masonry, circular in form for the first nine or ten feet, 
above this was a frame work of timber filled in with 
stones and mortar. They were covered with cedar clap- 
boards and surmounted with a conical shingled roof. They 
had four long, revolving arms, to which were fastened 
large sails. Although these windmills were used to grind 
their corn and wheat, the settler was not obliged to depend 
entirely upon them for his bread. If he lived too far away 
or did not wish to part with a portion of his grain in pay- 
ment for the grinding, he could make his own flour and 
meal. It was only necessary for him to carve a hollow 
in the top of a hardwood stump and pound the grain with 
a stone. The wheat thus ground into flour was course 
and brown, but it made wholesome bread when baked in 
the flat iron bake kettle. The cornmeal, mixed with water, 
was made into a cake and baked on a board or a shovel 
before the wood fire in the stone fireplace. They carried 
this with them for a lunch when they went from home on 
a journey and they called it ^'journey cake.'' With the 
addition of some other ingredients besides the cornmeal 
and water, it is now called ''johnny cake." 

These French settlers or ''habitans," as they were 
called, had few cares and enjoyed few luxuries, and yet 
they were happy. They almost worshipped their priest, 
who guided and taught them. He settled all their quar- 
rels and disputes, and served as lawyer, judge and jury. 
The ''habitans'' were all engaged more or less in the fur 
trade. Some went to the hunting grounds with the In- 



172 



WHEX MICHIGAN WAS NEW 



dians, while others sent their slaves to hunt for them. 
These slaves were Pawnee Indians who had been taken 
prisoners by the Indians of other tribes and sold to the 
whites. 




OLD SnXNING WHEEL 

The securing of their daily food was rather more of a 
pleasure than a task. The forests were alive with game, 
the marshes with wild fowl, and the waters with fish. 



MICHIGAN FROM 1783 TO 1837 173 

Their orchards supplied them with apples and pears, 
and they made wine from the wild grapes. Their recrea- 
tions consisted in attending services in the rude chapels, 
in adorning the altars with wild flowers, in dancing at 
each others houses, in hunting and fishing, and in pad- 
dling in their light canoes to visit their neighbors. In 
their cottages the walls were adorned with rude pictures 
of the Madonna and favorite saints, and the cheap leaden 
crucifix, instead of one of silver. 

While many of these habitans lived the peaceful life 
of the peasant in their comfortable cottages, there were 
others who had no permanent home. The '^coureurs du 
bois, ' ' and many of the hunters and trappers belonged to 
this class. Their occupations forced them to mingle with 
the various Indian tribes. In time they broke loose from 
all the restraints of civilization and became as barbarous 
in their customs and costumes as the savages themselves. 
They married Indian women and lived in wigwams in the 
densest forests and along the waterways. 

Their tanned and swarthy faces and barbarous cos-* 
tumes made them appear more like the natives than like 
their own countrymen. They imitated the customs and 
habits of their red associates. They decorated their long- 
hair with eagle feathers and painted their faces with ver- 
milion, ochre, and soot. They adorned their leather hunt- 
ing frocks with horsehair fringe and lounged on bear and 
buffalo rugs, while their Indian wives cooked their game 
and filled and lighted their pipes. In hunting and in fish- 
ing or in taking a scalp they were as expert as their red 
brothers. 

They were very superstitious. They believed that a 



174 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

thunder cloud could be frightened away by whistling at it 
through the wing bone of an eagle. They carried the tail 
of a rattlesnake in their bullet pouch for luck and were 
guided by their dreams. They were an ignorant, happy, 
fun-loving people. Through their associations with both 
the English and the Indians they acquired a quaint dia- 
lect, which was universally spoken all along the Border- 
land. 



MICHIGAN'S FIRST YELL 

The Fkench boys and girls of Old Detroit became 
quite familiar with the Indian language. Some of them 
learned to speak it so fluently that they were often called 
upon to act as interpreters between the red men and the 
white men. Some learned only the meaning of a few 
words, such as were used by both races in connection with 
certain signs by which they could understand each other. 
But they were all fond of grouping a string of the queer, 
gutteral, rythmic words together, regardless of their con- 
nection or meaning, and shouting the combination in con- 
cert as they romped and played in the village streets. 

What the college yell is to the school boy of today 
the following combination of Indian words was to the 
French boy of Old Detroit more than one hundred years" 
ago: 

Kaw-win- 

Nish-e-shin- 

Nip-po-nin- 

Nish-e-naw-ba- 

Ko-ko-ke-naw-gun- 



MICHIGAN" FKOM 1783 TO 1837 175 

Qiiasli-e-gun- 
Ky-u-ken-e-saw- 
Ke-mitch-e-mo-ke-mon- 
Ko-koosh. 

THE ST. CLAIR FLATS 

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 

The waters from all the Great Lakes rush down the 
River St. Clair and are discharged into Lake St. Clair 
through the three broad channels that form the mouth 
of the river. Between these channels, which form the 
Delta and the head of the Lake, lie the St. Clair Flats, a 
region without a recorded history. 

Just a stretch of water, and a stretch of sky. 

Where white wings and clouds go scurrying by. 

And over and under, there lies between, 

A watery meadow, a stretch of green. 
As far, and much farther than the eye can reach, a 
level panorama spreads out — a billowy sea of reeds and 
flags, lily pads, rushes and grass. A marsh, and yet not 
a marsh. There is no black muck, no green slime. Noth- 
ing but the clear pure water that ripples and sparkles 
over the clean, white, sandy bottom, the home of the 
frisky bass and the lazy muscallonge. 

Radiating from the main channels are a countless 
number of waterways, both broad and narrow, reaching 
out towards every compass point. They cross, and angle, 
and parallel each other in so bewildering a confusion 
that none save the keen-eyed red hunter or fisherman cau 
guide himself to the main channels, 



176 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

Overhead, where the blue dome droops downward to 
the circling horizon, gorgeous lined waterfowl soar and 
hang motionless in the air. The mother mallard guides 
her callow brood where the luscious seaweed beckons, and 
the sarcastic loon shrieks in derision as he dives into the 
depths for his daily food. And adown the main channels 
in ghostly silence, the Indian gondola, 

That moves like a swan. 
With as graceful a curve, 

the beautiful birchen canoe glides over the water, pro- 
pelled by the slender cedar paddle in the muscular 
hands of the dusky savage. The silence of a new made 
world broods over the scene, save when the Indian hunter 
wages a mild warfare to satisfy his humble needs. 
This was the St. Clair Flats one hundred years ago. 



THE ST. CLAIR FLATS 

TO-DAY 

Where once the wild squaw's birch canoe. 

Mounted the foamy wave, 
The gilded yacht glides swiftly on. 

And steamships smoke and rave. 

And where the savage war cry rose 

Above the mangled dead, 
And dusky forms in deadly grasp 

Trampled the lily bed. 



MICHIGAX FROM 1783 TO 1h:]7 177 

The shapely launch, and polished shell, 

Speed o'er the winding way; 
And happy voices flood the air, 

And children laugh and play. 

And where the Indian fisher's torch, 

Once flashed o 'er reedy bed. 
The fireflies flicker in and out, 

Like ghosts of unshrived dead. 

The black bird tilts on swaying reed, 

And grooms his scarlet breast. 
The marsh hen croons a ghostly song. 

Above her floating nest. 

The stately gull, with sweeping wings. 

Brushes the silvered spray. 
The swallow shrieks in mimic rage. 

And ducklings dive and play. 

And ever with the darkening day, 

The reeds droop low in prayer. 
And ever with the reddening dawn. 

The sun greets Lake St. Clair. 

HOW THE ARBUTUS CAME TO MICHIGAN 

Long, long ago, before the world was all finished, a 
very old man lived alone in his lodge, which stood on the 
bank of a stream near the edge of a dark forest. 

Outside snow and ice were everywhere, for it was 
winter. The spirit of the North Wind roamed through 



178 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

the forest, searching every tree and bush for birds to 
chill, and chasing the evil Manitous over hill and dale. 

Every day the old man went out through the forest 
hunting for wood to feed his fire, and although he was 
dressed in the warmest furs, he shivered with the cold. 
At last the snow became so deep that he could not find 
the wood and he was obliged to return to his lodge with- 
out it. He was cold and hungry, and in despair he threw 
himself down beside the few dull coals that were still 
smouldering and called aloud to Mauna-Boosha, the great 
and good Manitou, beseeching him to come to his rescue 
lest he perish. 

At that moment the wind lifted the fur hangings at 
the door and there appeared before him a beautiful 
maiden. Her eyes were large and glowing, her cheeks 
were stained with wild roses, her hair was like the 
raven's plumage and so long that it touched the groimd 
when she walked. Her hands were covered with willow 
buds, and on her head was a wreath of pale pink blos- 
soms. Her breath was odorous as a morn in spring and 
when she breathed the air of the lodge became warm. Her 
robe was long and trailing, and was covered with sweet 
grasses and ferns, her moccasins were made of white 
lilies. 

' ' Thou art welcome, my daughter, ' ' said the old man. 
*'My lodge is cold, but it will shield thee from the storm. 
Come, tell me who thou art. I am a mighty manitou. I 
blow my breath, and the streams cease to flow. The run- 
ning waters stand still.'* 

''T breathe softly," replied the maiden, ''and beau- 
tiful flowers spring up all over the prairies." 



MTOKIGAN FROM 1783 TO 183: 170 

^*I sliake my locks," said the old man, ''and the leaves 
run away like a flock of frightened birds and snow covers 
all the ground." 

''I shake my curls," the maiden whispered softly, 
''and the warm rains fall from the clouds and drench the 
parched earth, the flowers lift up their heads, and the lit- 
tle bubbles splash over the growing streams like young 
plovers. ' ' 

"When I walk about," continued the old man, "the 
leaves fall from the trees, and when I shout the tempest 
rides screaming on the wings of the North Wind. At my 
command, the animals hide in their holes and the birds 
fly awa}^ ' ' 

"When I walk about," the maiden responded, "the 
plants awaken and lift up their heads, the trees cover 
their nakedness with many leaves, the birds return to 
their nests, and all who see me sing for joy." 

The old man made no further reply, his head drooped 
on his breast, and he slept. Then the sun came back, and 
a bluebird called : 

"Sayee, Sayee, I am thirsty," and the river called 
back in reply: 

"I am free! I am free, come and drink." 

Then the maiden passed her hands above the old man's 
head and he grew small. A murmuring stream of water 
ran out of his mouth and his clothing turned to green 
leaves. Kneeling by his side she took from his bosom 
long sprays of odorous pink flowers and hid them among 
the leaves, she then breathed upon them, sa^nng as she 
did so: 

"I give thee all my virtues and my sweetest breath, 



180 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

and all who would pluck tliee must do so on bended knee. *^ 
She then moved away, leaving behind her an odorous 
pink trail, and wherever her moccasined feet left a print 
in the moist sod the trailing arbutus grows, and nowhere 
else. 



MILITARY FORTS IN MICHIGAN 

In the beginning of our State a Fort was a necessity, 
not alone as a protection from the warring tribes of red 
men, but as a proof of the right of the early settlers from 
both England and France to that particular locality 
which they claimed as their homes. The first Forts in 
Michigan were called trading posts. They were occupied 
by the fur traders, when transacting their business with 
the hunters and trappers, both red and white. Later 
some of them were enlarged and strengthened and be- 
came military Forts and were occupied by the regular 
troops. The military Forts along the Borderland were 
all built after the same plan. An early writer describes 
one in this manner. He says: 

'^A Fort consisted of cabins, block houses and stock- 
ades. A row of cabins, separated from each other by 
partitions of logs, formed one side of the Fort. The 
other three sides of the enclosure were protected by a 
strong palisade. The block houses were built at the 
angles of the Fort. They projected about two feet be- 
yond the outer walls of the cabins and the palisades. 
They were two stories in height, the upper story project- 
ing beyond the lower one, thus leaving an opening 
through which they could guard the walls from the at- 
tacks of the savages.'' 

The French were very anxious to secure control of the 

181 



182 



WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 



Borderland and the fur trade of the Northwest. To 
accomplish this it became necessary to establish a Fort 
on the Detroit river, where they could prevent the Eng- 
lish from trading with the tribes of the Lake region. A 
trading post and rude Fort had been erected at Mackinaw 
about 1671. 

FOKT ST. JOSEPH. 

In June, 1686, M. Duluth, who was in command at 
Mackinaw, received orders to establish a Fort on the 
Detroit of Lake Erie. But he made a mistake in the loca- 




OLD MISSION HOUSE 

tion. Instead of placing his Fort on the Detroit river, as 
he had been ordered, he built it on the St. Clair river at 
the mouth of Lake Huron, near what was later Fort 
Gratiot. It was first called Fort Duluth and then Fort 



MILITARY FOETS IN MICHIGAN 183 

St. Joseph. It was only occupied about two years wlien 
it was abandoned and burned. 

The most northern point of the lower peninsula and 
the island near it were given their names by the Indians 
long before the white men knew anything about the place. 
The name comes from the Indian word, Mish-i-maik-in- 
nac, which means the Great Turtle. Both the island and 
the main land when seen from a distance on the water 
resemble a turtle in shape. 

Mackinaw was one of the earliest settled places in 
Michigan. Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth 
traders from Quebec were in this region buying furs 
from the Indians. There was the little mission house, 
the busy trading post, and later the rude Fort that stood 
near the water. 

The French established the first military Fort, which 
they called Michili-mack-i-nac, on the southern shore of 
the northern peninsula, where St. Ignace now stands. It 
was afterward moved to the most northern point of the 
southern peninsula, where Mackinaw City now stands. 

After the dreadful massacre the English removed 
the Fort to Mackinaw Island, where it remained as a 
military post until a few years ago, when the troops were 
removed, the old Fort dismantled, the old cannon re- 
moved from the walls, and the site was given to the State 
of Michigan for a park. 

Detroit has been the site of four different Forts, 
under six different names. The first one was built by 
Cadillac in 1701. It was called Fort Ponchartrain, in 
honor of Count Ponchartrain, the French colonial min- 
ister. It was located on a high bank, south of Jefferson 



184 



WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 



avenue and west of Griswold street. It was a rude affair, 
but it served its purpose, which was to protect the early 
Detroiters from the attacks of the savages. It was sur- 
rounded by a fence ten feet high, made of sharp pointed 
logs, driven into the ground as closely together as pos- 




FORT PONTCHARTRAIN 

sible. This Fort was set on fire by the Indians in 1703, 
and partially destroyed. It was rebuilt by M. de Tonti, 
in 1718, who made it one of the strongest Forts in the 
country at that time. In 1749 it became necessary to 
enlarge it to make room for the homes of a large party 
of emigrants, who arrived from France. In 1751 more 
troops were sent to protect the Borderland and the name 
of the Fort was changed to Fort Detroit. 

The struggle between the French and the English 
for possession of the Borderland region was long and 



MILITARY FORTS IN MICHIGAN 185 

stubborn. But at last the deciding battle between the 
forces of Montcalm and Wolfe was fought and Quebec, 
the stronghold of the French, was captured. In 1760 
Fort Detroit, together with the whole Northwest, was 
surrendered by France to the English. 

The Fleur-de-lis, on the French flag, that had waved 
over the Fort for sixty years, was lowered, and the Red 
Cross of St. George arose in its place. Under the Eng- 
lish rule many improvements were made in the old Fort. 
New barracks for the officers and soldiers were built, the 
bastions were strengthened and the palisades were made 
twenty feet high. To guard against the treachery of the 
Indians new rules were made and strictly enforced. The 
gates were opened at sunrise, and closed at sunset. When 
the Indians entered the Fort all their arms were taken 
from them at the gate and returned to them when they 
passed out. 

Later the stockade around this Fort was again en- 
larged and four gates were built on each side, with block 
houses projecting over each one, excepting those on the 
south side that faced the river. The stockade at that 
time included that part of our city which is now bounded 
by Earned, Griswold, and Cass streets. On the river 
front the bank was high and steep, with a level stretch 
of ground between it and the water's edge about forty 
or fifty feet wide. 

While the war of the American Revolution was in 
progress a large body of English troops was stationed at 
Detroit under command of Major Lernoult. When the 
commandant heard of the continued success of the 
Americans and of their advancement toward the Border- 



186 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

land he began to make preparations for their reception. 
Although the old Fort had been improved and strength- 
ened, he felt the necessity of something still better to 
resist the attacks of the victorious Americans, if they 
should venture as far north as Detroit. 

As nothing more could be done with the old Fort, he 
decided to build a new one. The site which he selected 
was on the ^'second terrace,'' as it was called, which 
was a hill some distance north of the old Fort. The new 
structure was very much larger and stronger than the 
old one. It was surrounded by earth embankments which 
were made with a foundation of trees piled four feet 
high, with their sharpened trunks projecting outward. 
Above these trees was a row of sharpened stakes, which 
projected at an angle of forty-five degrees, and overtop- 
ping all of this was an earth embankment eleven feet 
high. Outside of this embankment was a ditch, twelve 
feet wide and six feet deep. Along the center of the 
ditch was a row of cedar pickets, sharp pointed at the 
end, which rose above the surface of the water. 

The new Fort was called Fort Lernoult, in honor of 
the commanding officer. Major Lernoult. It occupied 
what is now four city squares. It was bounded on the 
north by Lafayette street, on the east by Griswold street, 
on the south by Congress street and on the west by 
Wayne street. 

When the new Fort was completed the old Fort was 
destroyed. The little river Savoyard ran between the vil- 
lage and the new Fort and was crossed by a rustic bridge. 
The village was enclosed and connected with the Fort by 
a palisade. They were also connected by a long under- 



MILITAEY FORTS IN MICHIGAN 



187 



ground passage, through which the villagers often fled 
to the Fort for protection, when attacked by the Indians. 
About half way down this passage, and a little to one 




i%r- 



FORT LERNOULT. 

side, was the powder magazine. Outside of the enclose- 
ure, north of the Fort, was a tract of land that was used 
for a parade ground, a garden, and a burial place for the 
soldiers. 

After peace was declared between the Americans and 
the English a treaty of peace was signed, by which all of 
the military Forts along the Borderland were transferred 
to the Americans. The English flag was lowered, the 
Stars and Stripes were raised, and floated for the first 
time over Detroit. For thirty-six years the Fort bore 
the name of Lernoult, and then it was changed. After the 
war of 1812, between the English and the Americans, it 
was called Fort Shelby, in honor of Governor Shelby of 
Kentucky. It bore this name for fifteen years. In 1826 



188 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

Fort Shelby was abandoned as a military post and was 
given to the city of Detroit by Congress. In 1827 the 
stockade was removed and the Fort demolished. 

In the early part of the last century the Indians were 
very troublesome. They made frequent attacks upon the 
settlements, killing and carrying away cattle, hogs and 
sheep and stealing horses. To protect the stock belong- 
ing to the inhabitants of Detroit, which was pastured on 
the commons outside of the stockade, a small Fort was 
erected. It was located near what is now the northeast 
corner of Park and High streets. It was at first called Fort 
Croghan, and later Fort Nonsense. It was in circular form, 
and about forty feet in diameter. It consisted of an earth 
embankment, ten feet high and two feet wide on the top, 
and was surrounded by a ditch. The soldiers stationed at 
Fort Shelby used it as a target, so as to be able to drive 
out the Indians should they attempt to take possession 
of it. In later years, after the Indians became more 
peaceable, the boys of old Detroit took possession of it as a 
play Fort. They would elect two leaders, and then choose 
sides, thus forming two armies of equal strength. And 
then they would fight for possession of the Fort. Many 
a mimic, bloodless battle has been fought on this historic 
spot. It was from this fact that the Fort was sometimes 
called Fort Nonsense. 

In 1830 the United States government erected a mili- 
tary post, which was called Detroit Barracks. It fronted 
on Gratiot street, near Russell street. For nearly twenty- 
five years it was occupied by troops most of the time. 
There was no regular military fort at Detroit at this time, 
Fort Shelby having been abandoned in 1826. 



MILITARY FORTS IN MICHIGAN 189 

The Fort located at Detroit at the present time was 
called Fort Wayne, in honor of General Anthony Wayne. 
It was begun in 1843, and completed in 1851. It has a fine 
location on the north bank of the Detroit river, at its nar- 
rowest part, and gives a view for a long distance up and 
down the river. Fort Wayne is one of the most impor- 
tant military posts in our country at the present time. 

In 1765 General Sinclair, an Irish officer in the British 
army, built a little military Fort and trading post where 
now is located the city of St. Clair. Fort Sinclair stood 
on a rise of ground on the south siae of Pine river, near 
its mouth. The ruins of the Fort were plainly visible as 
late as 1831. A chimney twenty feet high was still stand- 
ing, and an apple orchard, planted by the soldiers, the 
trunks of the trees being more than a foot in diameter, 
was still bearing large quantities of fruit. It was a reg- 
ular fortification, consisting of earthworks, a stockade, 
and a rally post, with moimted artillery, quite equal to 
any of the posts of the times. Commandant Sinclair oc- 
cupied it for about seventeen years. 

In 1807, soon after General Hull became Governor of 
Michigan, the St. Clair river was guarded by a military 
post. A small blockhouse was built just south of what is 
now Marine City. This was the headquarters for the 
troops that were scattered along the river from Lake 
Huron to Lake St. Clair. 

Fort Gratiot was built in 1814, and occupied by troops 
from Maine, in command of General Gratiot. It was lo- 
cated on the north shore of the St. Clair river, near the 
mouth of Lake Huron, In 1822 the post was abandoned, 
and a Presbyterian mission school was opened, which 



190 WHEjST MICHIGAX WAS NEW 

continued for one year. Here the French and Indian 
children were taught to read and write. They had no 
books or pencils. They used a box of sand for a slate. 
Each pupil was provided with a sharpened stick, with 
which they formed the letters in the sand, from copies 
placed on the wall. In 1828 troops were again sent to oc- 
cupy the Fort and it was rebuilt. In 1832 General Scott 
garrisoned the Fort with troops and a number of West 
Point students. Soon after this the cholera broke out and 
nearly all the students died of it. In 1852 the old garri- 
son buildings were torn down and the grounds are now 
covered by railroad tracks and a village. 



SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 



lEON ORE 



It was because of a quarrel, kuown in history as the 
Toledo War, that the Upper Peninsula became a part of 
Michigan. There was a dispute about the boundary line 
between Michigan and Ohio. Michigan claimed as her 
southern boundary, a line running across the peninsula, 
from the southern point of Lake Michigan to Lake Erie, 
while Ohio claimed a line a few miles farther north, 
which would add to their state a strip of land about five 
miles in width at the west end, widening to eight miles at 
the east end. This included the harbor on the Maumee 
river where the city of Toledo now stands. 

Three new states, Ohio, Lidiana and Illinois, had been 
admitted into the Union, and now, in 1834, the population 
of Michigan had reached a point which entitled her to be- 
come a state. A convention was held, when a constitution 
was adopted, and a Legislature and a full set of state of- 
ficers were elected, with Steven T. Mason as Governor of 
the new State. 

But when all these essential preliminaries had been 
arranged and the report had been sent to Congress, they 

191 



193 WHEX MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

were told that they could not become a State until the 
question of the boundary lines had been settled. This set- 
tlement proved to be a difficult matter. Both States 
claimed the strip of land and neither would consent to 
give it up. All sorts of legal points were argued to prove 
that each claimant was entitled to it. The struggle for 
possession was long and bitter. War was threatened. 
Each State had a large force of militia and eager volun- 
teers, ready to do battle if necessary. These troops were 
called out on several occasions, but fortunately no blood 
was shed. 

At last Congress became aroused, and the President 
decided that some action must be taken to settle the mat- 
ter without delay. In June, 1836, Congress passed an act 
by which Michigan would be admitted into the Union as a 
State, on condition that she give up her claim to the strip 
of land, and receive in its place what is now known as the 
Upper Peninsula. 

When the people of Michigan were told the conditions 
of the settlement they were very indignant. They had no 
use for the Upper Peninsula. They had heard rumors 
of the beds of copper and other minerals in that region, 
but they regarded these stories as fairy tales. They be- 
lieved that Congress had given them a very poor bargain. 
It was a cold, barren waste, far beyond the boundaries of 
civilization, too mountainous for cultivation, and of no 
value for any purpose. That they were thoroughly 
mistaken in their opinions has been satisfactorily proven 
by later events. 

The existence of iron in the ITpper Peninsula was not 
generally known until about the middle of the last cen- 



SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 



193 



tury. Some of the Indians knew about it and they told 
the early fur traders. In this way it reached the ears of 
General Cass. In 1824, while he was Governor of the 
Territory of Michigan, he called the attention of the 




DETROIT RIVER IN 1S87 

United States Government to the mineral resources of 
the Lake Superior country and asked that steps might be 
taken to secure from the Indians the privilege of ex- 
ploring and mining in that region. His request was 
granted, and a commissioner was appointed to treat with 
the Indians for that purpose. But here the matter ended 
and for a time the iron ore. beds were forgotten. 

In 1844, while a party of United States surveyors 
were engaged in surveying the Lake Superior country, 
they found iron ore in great abundance. They made a 



194 WHEX MICHIGAX WAS XEW 

record of their discoveries in their reports and marked 
the outcroppings on their maps, and there the matter 
ended. Not one of them laid any claim to the great 
underground beds of wealth over which they tramped, 
while they dragged their chains and planted their stakes. 

In the spring of 1845 the reports of the existence of 
copper and silver had induced a party of men from Jack- 
son, Michigan, to visit the Lake Superior country, and 
investigate the matter. When they arrived at the Sault 
they were told by an Indian guide whom they had em- 
ployed of the discoveries of iron ore made by the sur- 
veyors. The following extract from a letter written by 
Mr. Everett, the leader of the Jackson party, tells us of 
their trip to the ore beds. He says : 

^^I took four men with me from Jackson and hired 
a guide at the Sault, where I bought a boat and coasted 
up the Lake to Copper Harbor, which is three hundred 
miles from the Sault. There are no white men on Lake 
Superior except those who go there for mining purposes. 
We incurred many dangers and hardships. We made 
several locations, one of which we called Iron. It is a 
mountain of solid iron ore, one hundred and fifty feet 
high. The ore looks as bright as a bar of iron just 
broken. Our location is one mile square. Our company 
is called the Jackson Mining Company." 

This was the first company organized for the purpose 
of mining and developing the iron ore in the Lake 
Superior country. In the summer of 1847, the Jackson 
Company built a forge on Carp river, about three miles 
from the mine, and in February, 1848, the first iron ever 
made in the Upper Peninsula was made in this forge. 



SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 195 

The daily output was about six tons of wliat was called 
bloom iron^ each piece being four inches square and two 
feet long. This was drawn daily to Marquette, a dis- 
tance of ten miles, over roads which were in a terrible 
condition. Such was the first experience in making and 
transporting the first manufactured iron in the Upper 
Peninsula. 

In March, 1849, the Marquette Iron Company was or- 
ganized under somewhat better conditions than its pred- 
ecessor. This company was under the management of 
Mr. Graveraet, a resident of Mackinaw. His crew of 
workmen consisted of nine men and a boy. The boy was 
Peter White. The journey from Mackinaw to the Sault 
was made in one of the little Lake steamers, and from 
there to their destination in a Mackinaw barge. After 
eight days spent in slowly working their way along the 
rocky shore, by sailing and paddling, they reached Indian 
Town, now called Marquette. Here they were met by 
Charley Bawgum, a famous Chippewa Indian, who in- 
vited them to his wigwam and treated them to a fine game 
supper. The tramp to the mines was long and tedious. 
The country was all a dense wilderness, rough and rocky, 
with only a blazed tree here and there to mark the trail. 

It was at this place that Peter White cleared the brush 
and stripped the covering from the beds of hidden wealth, 
thus starting the history of one of the greatest industries 
in the world. The first ore taken from the mines was 
hauled to the forge at the Lake shore in 1850. Here it 
was manufactured into bloom iron ready for shipment. 
This was an expensive undertaking. The expense of 
manufacturing the iron, and the freight charges to the 



196 WHEK MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

mills in the eastern states, brought the actual cost of the 
iron to more than double the regular market rate. As 
yet no one had thought of shipping the ore to the manu- 
facturing centers. 

As the business increased there was a demand for 
better transportation facilities. To satisfy this demand 
a plank road was built from the mines to the lake. Al- 
though this was a great improvement on the earlier 
methods, the moving of the ore was still a tedious and 
expensive matter. It could only be hauled in winter on 
sleighs. The average load was a ton, and only about 
fifteen tons could be hauled in a day. 

When navigation opened in the spring of 1854, there 
were one thousand tons of ore on the dock at Marquette, 
waiting for shipment to the eastern market. This was 
before the canal at the Sault was built, and the moving 
of this ore was a great undertaking. It was first wheeled 
aboard the small Lake steamers and taken to the Sault, 
where it was unloaded and carried over the portage, and 
then wheeled aboard the lower Lake vessels, and carried 
to its destination. This was the method by which the 
Upper Peninsula ore was handled half a century ago, 
when the country was new. 

In 1855, the plank road became a strap railroad, with 
flat bottom cars drawn by mules. There are many sad 
tales told about these poor mules. The grades were very 
steep, and the cars often ran away or jumped the track 
when going down hill. Of course the driver could jump 
off the load into the sand at the side of the track and 
escape injury, but the mules were not so fortunate. When 
the loaded cars overtook them they were either thrown 



SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 1^7 

off the track and seriously injured or crushed to death 
under the wheels. This was a rather expensive business 
as the mules were worth from a thousand to fourteen 
hundred dollars a pair. 

The strap railroad did not prove a success. The fast 
increasing business required something better, and Peter 
White was sent to Lansing as a Legislator to see what 
could be done about it. In September, 1857, a steam rail- 
road was finished to the mines and the first locomotive in 
the Upper Peninsula was brought from the East and 
placed upon it. 

From that day to the present time there has been a 
steady advance along all lines connected with the mining 
and making of iron. New mines have been discovered 
and operated in various parts of the Peninsula. Rail- 
roads have been built to handle the ore. Cities and towns 
have grown among the rocks and hills to provide homes 
for the masses of people who are making a new country 
and developing its resources. The shipping has grown 
from the little fleets of schooner ore carriers and toy 
steamers to an astonishing magnitude. Of such dimen- 
sions are the ore carriers of the present day that Uncle 
Sam is forced to wage a perpetual war upon the channels 
and shallows along the chain of great lakes and rivers, 
that they may have a sufficient width and depth of water 
to safely carry their great cargoes of ore from the mining 
regions to the manufacturing centers. 

Peter White wrote the bill of lading of the first ship- 
ment of ore from the Upper Peninsula, billed from Mar- 
quette to Detroit, consisting of six barrels. The average 
load of a modern freighter is ten thousand tons. 



198 WHEN" MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

COPPER 

Whe:^^ and by whom copper was first discovered is a 
mystery. It is believed that some pre-historic race of 
people that once inhabited the Borderland region knew 
of its existence in the Lake Superior country. They lived 
and died long before America was discovered. The red 
men who were here before the white men came had no 
knowledge of them and there was no mention of them in 
their legends or folk lore. 

But these people of mystery have left a brief, incom- 
plete story of their existence in the underground copper 
beds of Northern Michigan. In the partially developed 
mines that have been discovered there were great masses 
of copper, supported by wooden props that showed the 
marks of great age. Stone hammers, wedges and other 
tools lay scattered about. There were also found in the 
vicinity, axes, knives, spear heads, beads, and other orna- 
ments, besides cooking utensils, all made from the native 
copper. 

Where the earth had been thrown out of these mines, 
trees had grown and decayed, and fallen, and other trees 
had grown above them, which had rings marks on them 
that proved they were centuries old. 

The visitor to Isle Ro^^ale may still find hundreds of 
deep pits scattered about in the pine woods. These are 
partially filled with forest rubbish, which conceals the 
rude ladders and stone tools of the ancient miners and 
the refuse and marks of the fires which they built to 
soften the ore before they broke it from the veins. 

The copper articles of their manufacture became dis- 



SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 199 

tributed all over the Northwest, in some instances many 
hundred miles from the copper region. This would in- 
dicate that their roving habits, and possibly their methods 
of trading Avitli each other, were somewhat similar to 
those of the American natives of a later period. 

The Borderland Indians knew about the copper beds 
on the south shore of Lake Superior and on Isle Royale, 
and it was from them that the early missionaries first 
heard about it. One early writer mentions a large mass 
near the shore of the Lake, and says that the Indians who 
passed that way cut pieces from it weighing sometimes 
from ten to twenty pounds. They looked upon it with a 
superstitious awe and would not talk to the whites about 
it. They believed that certain powerful manitous who 
lived in the ore veins would punish them if they told the 
pale faces where the underground spirits lived. 

Some of the tribes claimed that the copper from which 
their weapons and utensils were manufactured was on a 
floating island which was driven about the Lake by the 
wind. Possibly this story originated with the tribes who 
held the secret of the true location of the copper mines. 

As early as 1636, a little book was written by one of 
the first French explorers, and was published in Paris. 
In this the author speaks of the existence of copper in 
the fresh water seas. Another early writer refers to a 
great island, fifty leagues in circumference, where there 
was a beautiful copper mine. He describes a large 
boulder of copper weighing nearly half a ton. The In- 
dians built fires around it, and when it was softened, they 
cut off pieces with their stone axes. 

In 1771, a company was organized in England under 



SOO WHEK- MICHIGAN WAS KEW 

the management of the celebrated English trader, Alex- 
ander Henry, to develop the resources of that region and 
especially the copper beds. Among the stockholders was 
the King of England, and several of the prominent Eng- 
lish nobles. But notwithstanding the royalty and wealth 
of titles among the stockholders, and the adventurous 
spirit of their leader, the venture proved unsuccessful. 
Although this region is richer in the actual value of its 
minerals than any other part of the world, it was not 
until three-quarters of a century later that any attempt 
was made to develop it. 



THE DISCOVEEY OF COPPEE 
A Legend 

An Indian legend tells the story of the discovery of 
copper in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

Four hunters landed on an island near the north shore 
of Lake Superior. They were cold and hungry, having 
paddled a long distance on the water. Their only cook- 
ing utensils were made of birch bark. Wishing to boil 
their food, they filled these bark baskets with water. 
They then gathered some of the stones that were scat- 
tered along the shore, heated them red hot and dropped 
them into the water. Much to their surprise they found 
that these stones were lumps of pure copper. 

After they had finished their meal they hastened away 
from the island. They were afraid of the lynxes and 
hares, which on this particular island were very large 
and very bold, and would have devoured all their pro- 



SETTLEME>sTT AKD DEVELOPMENT $01 

visions, and possibly their canoes, if they had remained. 
• Each hnnter carried away one of the wonderful 
stones. They had gone bnt a short distance when a deep 
voice as loud as thunder sounded in their ears: 

''Who are these thieves that steal the toys of my chil- 
dren!'' 

They fell on their faces in the bottom of the canoe 
and trembled with fear. They believed that they had 
heard the voice of the ' ' god of the waters, ' ' or some other 
powerful manitou. Overcome with terror, they threw the 
stones back on the shore and swiftly paddled away. 
Three of the men died in the canoe from fright and the 
fourth lived only long enough to tell the story. 

The island, so the legend tells us, had no foundation, 
but floated on the surface of the water. After this hap- 
pened, no Indian ever dared to land on its shores, fearing 
the wrath of the great Manitou. 

THE ETEENAL FIEE 

The first explorers who visited the Great Northwest 
found that the central point of Indian influence and in- 
telligence was on the southern shore of Lake Superior, 
far toward the western extremity. Here was situated the 
village of Che-goi-me-gon, the ancient Chippewa capital. 
This dllage was the headquarters of all the great chiefs 
of the olden times. It was here that Mudje-Kewis, the 
chief ruler of all the tribes, lived. And it was here that 
the Eternal Fire was kept up and never allowed to go out. 
It was preserved with great care and many ceremonies. 
The Indians believed that if it were allowed to a'O out, 



202 WHEX MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

some great calamity would befall them and they would 
become extinct as a nation. 

Two hundred years ago the fire was still burning. 
General Cass tells us that at that time all the ceremonies 
attending the preservation of the fire were still practiced 
and that it was still burning when the French first ap- 
peared among them. There were male and female guard- 
ians, to whose care it was committed, and. who watched it 
faithfully night and day. 

It is not at all surprising that the Indians attached 
so much importance to the preservation of the fire when 
we remember what it meant to them. They firmly be- 
lieved that with the extinction of the fire they would cease 
to exist as a nation. This prophecy has proved true. The 
fire is extinct and their power has departed from them. 

PERE MARQUETTE 

James Marquette was born in France in the year 
1637. At an early age he became a priest, and after sev- 
eral years spent in studying and teaching in his native 
country he sailed for Canada to become a missionary in 
the new world, arriving there September 20th, 1666. Two 
years later he was sent to Sault Ste. Marie. With a party 
of Indians as guides and canoe men, he followed the 
Ottawa river route to Georgian Bay, and then crossed 
the head of Lake Huron to the Sault. The party landed 
on what is now the American side of the Sault Ste. Marie 
river, at a point frequented by the Chippewa Indians. At 
that time the southern shore of Lake Superior was the 
central point of Indian influence. Here was located the 



SETTLEMENT AND DEYELOP]\rENT 203 

Chippewa tribes, the most influential and intelligent of 
all the tribes in the great Northwest. It is supposed that 
the French fur traders visited these Indians before the 
missionaries found them. This must have been very 
early in the seventeenth century. From the earliest 
records it is learned that two missionaries established a 
mission for the Chippewas at this point as early as 1641, 
and now, twenty-seven years later. Father Marquette set 
about to restore it. This was in 1688. 

He erected the first church in what is now the State 
of Michigan, and planted the first garden in the North- 
west. He built his little cabin at the foot of the Rapids 
and thus started the first permanent settlement in the 
State of Michigan. 

Father Marquette was welcomed by the Chippewas, 
and to this day his name is revered by the descendents of 
those who welcomed him. But his adventurous spirit 
was not content with one mission. During his ministry of 
seven years he founded many others along the Border- 
land and visited them at regular intervals, making the 
trips in his bark canoe. 

He established one mission at a point on the north 
shore of the Straits of Mackinaw, which he called Ste. 
Tgnace. Here he built a little chapel with sides of logs 
and roof of bark. While he was building it he lived on 
the Island of Mackinaw. 

From here he went to La Pointe d 'Esprit, where he 
established another mission. A party of Illinois Indians 
arrived while he was there. They brought news of a 
great river that flowed southward. They had followed 
It on their trip north for thirtv davs. Thev told him of 



204 WHEA^ MICHIGAX WAS NEW 

great nations that lived in the south. Their canoes were 
made of wood, instead of bark, and they raised an 
abundance of corn. 

When Marquette heard these remarkable stories, he 
became anxious to explore this great river and visit the 
nations that lived along its shores. Three years later he 
received permission from his superiors in Canada to 
establish a mission among the Illini, or the Illinois In- 
dians. In 1672, Joliet with four companions arrived at 
Ste. Ignace, to accompany him on the expedition. Mar- 
quette was much pleased with the prospect of an oppor- 
tunity to broaden his work among the Indians. The win- 
ter was spent in preparations for the journey. On May 
seventeenth, of the following year, Marquette and Joliet, 
and five Indian companions, with two canoes and a small 
store of smoked meat, started on their long journey. 

They followed the north shore of Lake Michigan, and 
entered Green Bay. When they went into camp on the 
bank of the Menominee river, the Indians tried to per- 
suade them to go no farther. They said the banks of 
the Mississippi were inhabited by a ferocious tribe and 
that all strangers were tomahawked without provocation. 
They also said that there was a demon in a certain part 
of the river, whose roar could be heard at a great dis- 
tance and that the water was full of frightful monsters 
which would devour them and their canoes. 

But Marquette was not influenced by their tales. He 
reached the head of Green Bay, entered Fox river, 
crossed Lake Winnebago, and followed the upper Fox 
to the Portage. From this point the canoes were carried 
a mile and launched into the Wisconsin river. From 



SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPI^rENT 205 

here they floa.ted and paddled a hundred miles until they 
reached the object of their search, the great river of 
which they had. heard such wonderful tales. 

They followed this for seven days without seeing a 
human being. On the eighth day they discovered foot- 
prints on the bank that led up to an Indian village near 
what is now Keokuk, Iowa. They followed the river for 
a month, meeting with various adventures with the dif- 
ferent tribes, some welcoming and some threatening, 
until they reached the mouth of the Arkansas river. On 
the return trip they entered the Illinois river, where they 
met the Illinois tribe of Indians who were very f r lendly 
to them. One of the chiefs with a party of braves e? eorted 
them to Lake Michigan, leaving them at the place where 
Chicago is now located. From this point the ren ainder 
of the journey was made along the shore of Lake Michi- 
gan to Green Bay. 

Marquette tells a very interesting story of the Illinois 
Indians as he found them in their village in 1673 They 
met the missionaries with a friendly welcome. They 
first presented the pipes, or calumets, to smoke, and then 
conducted the party to their village, where all the tribe 
was waiting to greet them. The village consisted of 
about three hundred lodges, and never before had one of 
the savages seen a white man. They gazed at the visitors 
in astonishment, while they were being conducted among 
the lodges that all might have a good view of them. They 
were given many presents of belts, garters, and other 
articles, made of the hair of wild animals, dyed red and 
yellow and blue. The visitors remained in the village 
one night, when they again started on their journey. 



206 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS XEW 

promising to return in four moons. They were escorted 
to their canoes by all of the inhabitants. 

Marquette says of these people: ^'The Illinis are a 
superior tribe of Indians. They look down on all other 
tribes. They are mild, sensible, and intelligent. They 
have wives whom they watch carefully, and cut off their 
noses and ears when they do not behave well. I saw sev- 
eral who had been punished in this way. The Indians 
are well built and nimble, and are skillful in the use of 
the bow and arrow. They have no knowledge of the 
white man and have no implements excepting stone 
knives. They have not yet learned the use of copper and 
iron. When the Illinis go to war, a loud cry is made at 
the door of each hut in the village the morning and even- 
ing before the warriors set out. The chiefs are dis- 
tinguished from the soldiers by a scarf made of the hair 
of bears and wild oxen. The face is painted red and yel- 
low with the red lead and ochre, which is found in large 
quantities near the village. They live on game, which 
is abundant in this country, and on Indian corn. They 
also raise beans, melons, and squashes, which they dry 
in the summer sun to eat in the winter and spring. Their 
cabins are very large and are lined and floored with rush 
mats. They make all their dishes of wood, and their 
spoons of the bones of the buffalo. Their clothing is 
made of the skins of wild animals. They pay great re- 
spect to the calumet, or peace pipe. It seems to be the 
god of peace as well as of war, and carries the verdict of 
life or of death. The Illinis gave me one as a safeguard 
among the different tribes I would pass on my vo^^age." 

The following year Marquette again journeyed south- 



SETTLEMENT AXD DEVELOPMENT 207 

ward, to establish a mission among the Illinois Indians. 
He reached the mouth of the Illinois river, where Chi- 
cago now stands, when his health failed and he was 
obliged to remain in camp through the long winter, suf- 
fering much with cold and hunger. 

Early in the spring he reached his destination, estab- 
lished his mission, and began immediately to teach the 
Indians. But he was already so feeble from the hard- 
ships of the winter, that he was soon forced to give up 
his work. Realizing that his days were numbered he 
again started northward. His strongest hope was that 
he might reach his beloved mission at Ste. Ignace before 
death came. 

He was accompanied by two of his Indian friends, 
who tenderly cared for him with sorrowing hearts, as 
they paddled the canoe along the eastern shore of Lake 
Michigan. He grew so weak that he had to be lifted from 
the canoe each night, and carried to the camp. 

One night they arrived at a wild and lonely spot, 
where the shore arose in a long low promontory, which 
was called Sleeping Bear by the Indians. Marquette 
pointed to the high elevation at the mouth of the river 
and told his friends that he wished to die there. This 
spot was not far from the place where the city of Luding- 
ton is now located. They carried him ashore, built a 
small hut of bark in which they kindled a fire, and made 
him as comfortable as was possible. On the eighteenth 
of May, 1675, at the age of thirty-eight years, after nine 
years of faithful work among the Indians, Father Mar- 
quette died. His friends buried him on the elevation, 
and raised a rude cross over his grave to mark the spot. 



208 WHEX MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

Two years later a party of Ottawa Indians from Ste. 
Ignace visited the place. They opened the grave and 
according to a custom of their tribe they dissected the 
body, washed the bones and dried them in the sun. They 
were then packed in a box made of birch bark and taken 
to Ste. Ignace, where they were placed in the vault be- 
neath the little mission chapel. 

Many years passed and the mission was abandoned 
and the church was burned. In time the location was for- 
gotten altogether and Marquette's burial place was un- 
known. Nearly one hundred years ago Gabriel Richard 
and many others searched for the ruins of the old mis- 
sion church, but in vain. 

Sixty years later, the old foundation walls of the 
church were found, with the vault in the center. In the 
vault was the birch bark box, containing the bones of 
Father Marquette. They were taken to Milwaukee, and 
placed in the Marquette college in that city for preserva- 
tion. 

In 1897, two hundred and twent3^-one years after Mar- 
quette 's death, the city which bears his name unveiled 
a fine bronze statue which had been erected to his 
memory. It stands on a natural rock pedestal, overlook- 
ing the Gitchee Gumee of his devoted followers. The 
Indians who are still living in the Lake, Superior region 
claim that this spot was the actual camping place of Mar- 
quette, when on his vo^^age along the Lake shore. 

When the sod, and accumulations of rubbish were 
being removed from the rock to prepare it for the statue 
a deep crevice was discovered on the top. In this were 
several pieces of copper which evidently had been placed 




STATUE UF MAUgUETTE, MAKQUETTE, MICH. 



210 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

there ages ago. As there are no beds of copper in that 
region, it is believed that Marquette placed them there 
himself, with the intention of removing them on some 
future occasion. If this is a fact, he either forgot them 
or did not visit the place again. 



THE LEGEND OF THE SLEEPING BEAR 

WiEN-DA-Goo-isH, an old Borderland chief, tells us this 
story of the Sleeping Bear. 

Many years ago, before the great forests of Michigan 
and Wisconsin had been invaded by the white men, the 
wild animals of the forests were possessed of souls and 
the Medicine men of the tribes were able to talk with 
them. Once upon a time a huge she-bear with her two 
cubs was compelled to desert the shores of Wisconsin and 
take to the waters of the great lake, Mich-i-ga-mee, to 
escape the fires that were raging in the wilderness. The 
heat was so intense that the mother bear concluded not 
to return to the Wisconsin shore, but struck out boldly 
for the banks of Michigan. 

When nearly across the lake the two cubs sank from 
exhaustion and were drowned. The mother bear swam 
about the spot for hours, but her cubs never aros^ to the 
surface again. At last she became so weary that she was 
compelled to seek the shore; on reaching it she climbed 
a steep bluff and lay down to sleep and rest. 

That bluff has always been called Sleeping Bear 
Point. Ever since the poor bear climbed it and went to 
sleep her spirit has remained on the bluff. And awa^^ to 
the north, where her two cubs disappeared from her 



SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 211 

sight, two beautiful islands, which the Indians called 
Spirit Islands, gradually arose to the surface. These 
are now known as the North and South Manitou Islands. 
The spirits of the cubs are supposed to live on these 
islands while the mother bear keeps a constant and loving 
watch over the homes of her loved ones. Here they must 
remain until time is no more, when they will be allowed 
to enter the happy hunting grounds in the Indian heaven, 
not as victims of the spirit huntsmen, but as guardians 
of the Indians who love them. 

The chief says that on stormy nights, when the winds 
howl and the waters roar, the spirit of the mother moans 
and cries on the great sand bluff, in anxiety for the fate 
of her young, as she listens to the treacherous waves 
that caused their death, beating upon the shores of the 
island homes. 

SAULT STE. MARIE BEFOEE THE CANAL 

Theee is no record of a time when there were no In- 
dians at the Sault. When Nicollet visited the place in 
1634 he found an Indian village, and ever since then cer- 
tain tribes have made their homes in the vicinity. This 
region has always been a favorite resort for the red men 
because of the abundance of fish the whole year through. 
The waters of the Rapids are too busy to freeze, and as 
fish was the staple food of the Indians during the winter 
they were content to remain here instead of wandering 
from place to place as many of the other tribes did. 

In 1641 an Indian mission was established, and called 
Ste. Marie. It is interesting to trace the origin of a 



212 WHEN MICHIGAX WAS NEW 

name. In this case the word Sault, meaning leap, as the 
leaping of the waters, or the Rapids, added to the name 
of the Indian mission, gives us Sault Ste. Marie, the Leap 
of Ste. Marie. 

The first white settlement in Michigan is dated 1668, 
when Marqnette established his mission at the Sanlt. 
This gives to Sanlt Ste. Marie the honor of being the 
oldest town in Michigan and thirty years older than 
Detroit. In 1750 the French established a military post 
at this place, to protect the fur trade, by preventing the 
English from dealing with the Indian hunters and trap- 
pers. 

After the surrender of Canada to the English the 
French left the place and in 1762 only the Fort and four 
houses remained. From that time until 1796 there was 
a mixed population of French and Indians. An early 
writer tells us that it was a favorite resort for the In- 
dians and fur traders on their way from the forests of 
Lake Superior to Mackinaw. A goldsmith resided there 
who made bracelets for the Indians, and candlesticks and 
crosses for the use of the church, from the pure copper 
which was found in the vicinity. This same writer also 
gives the following account of an Indian burial at the 
Sault, which he witnessed. The dead Indian was wrapped 
in a new blanket and outside of this was another wrap- 
ping of white birch bark. An old Indian chief delivered 
the funeral oration, speaking directly to the dead man. 
He told him that his friends were all around him, and 
would soon follow him, and then he gave him many 
directions and much advice as to his conduct while on his 
journey to the happy hunting grounds, warning him of 



Sr:TTLE]\TENT A^D DEVELOPMENT 21^ 

the dangers along* the trail. He then bade him adieu. 
The dead man 's brother now came forward, removed the 
head dress and pnlled out some locks of his brother's 
hair. The head dress was then replaced, the wrappings 
fastened with hemp cord, and the body was lowered into 
the grave. A large log was now placed across the open 
grave, which served as a bridge, and the dead man's 
brother, taking the widow by the hand led her across it. 
This completed the burial ceremonies and the grave was 
then filled. 

One of the most prominent characters in the early 
history of the Sault, was John Johnson. He emigrated 
from Ireland to America in 1792 and soon after his ar- 
rival joined a trading party bound for Lake Superior. 
Here, while engaged in the fur business, he met the 
beautiful daughter of Waub-o-jeeg, the chief of the Chip- 
pewas, whom he made his wife. He built a house on the 
bank of the river which was an elegant one for the period. 
It was long and low in design, and was built of logs. It 
was surrounded by an old fashioned garden. Here he 
lived with his Indian wife, and his family of sons and 
daughters, to whom he gave a fine education. They were 
.^ent east where they attended the best schools in the 
country. In 1807 Johnson with his daughter Jane visited 
his old home in Ireland; later they traveled through 
Europe for the purpose of finishing her education. After 
a long stay abroad, he returned to the Sault, where his 
daughter became the wife of Henry Schoolcraft, the his- 
torian and author, upon whose Indian legends Longfel- 
low founded his poem of Hiawatha. 

The principal business at the Sault in these early 



214 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

days was tlie fur trade. To further this, and make the 
passage of the heavily laden bateaux down the Sault 
river easier than by portage, became a matter of im- 
portance to the fur dealers. In 1797 the Hudson Bay 
Company built a rude lock on the Canadian side of the 
Eapids. This lock was built of dressed timber and lasted 
for sixteen years; it was then destroyed by the United 
States troops from Mackinaw, together with every build- 
ing in the vicinity, including the fine home of Mr. John- 
son. 

In 1820 General Cass with a party of sixty-six men 
went up from Detroit to the Sault to establish a trading 
post. The British flag was still flying although Mackinaw 
had been in possession of the United States for some 
time. General Cass pulled the flag down with his own 
hands and obtained permission from the Indians to build 
a Fort. At that time there were forty Chippewa lodges 
and two hundred white inhabitants at the Sault. It is 
claimed that it was only through the great influence 
which Mrs. Johnson had over the Indians that General 
Cass was given permission to build his Fort. 

Later the United States government recognized this 
fact, and ceded to her, her children, and her grand- 
children, large tracts of land, some of it on Sugar Island, 
a few miles below the Sault. 

After the death of Mr. Johnson, his Indian wife 
turned again to the customs of her own people. She 
engaged extensively in the manufacture of maple sugar. 
She went with the Indians on their hunting and fishing 
trips, and became their guide and adviser on all occa- 



SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT '^15 

sions, and in all important matters. She died at the 
Sault in 1849. 

In 1837 Michigan became a State, and Dr. Houghton 
was appointed State Geologist. When he made his first 
reports of the discovery of copper in the Upper Pen- 
insula, there was great excitement throughout all the 
country. Prospectors and adventurers, men of leisure 
and men who labored, began to arrive at the Lake 
Superior ports in great numbers. They found in the 
Sault village a curiously mixed population. There were 
about two hundred inhabitants of several nationalities, 
speaking several languages and dialects, and besides 
these there were the wigwams and lodges scattered about, 
singly and in little groups, where the Indians lived their 
simple lives. In the winter they hunted and fished, and 
cut the forest trees into cord wood to supply the in- 
habitants with fuel. In the early spring they left their 
homes and went into the maple forests to make maple 
sugar. In the summer they raised corn for their own 
use, as also to supply the hunters and trappers and others 
engaged in the fur trade. They also cut and cured wild 
hay for the few cattle that were at the Sault at that early 
date, and to make beds in their winter lodges. In the 
fall the}^ smoked and dried large quantities of fish for 
their supply of food in winter when the storms raged and 
prevented their fishing in the Rapids. Sometimes, when 
the weather was not too cold, they caught the white fish 
and trout by spearing them through holes in the ice. 

In 1845, the only l)oat that came to the Sault was the 
steamer Detroit. She made only one trip each week be- 
tween the Sault and Detroit. In 1846, other vessels were 



21C WHEN" MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

put on the route ; they brought so many passengers that 
they could not be accommodated at the two small hotels 
in the village. They were obliged to go into camp near 
the foot of the Rapids, where they found much to interest 
them in watching the Indians and half breeds in their 
birch bark canoes catching white fish in their scoop nets. 

The social features of the little village at that time 
consisted principally of dances held in the homes of the 
half breeds, the music furnished on an old broken down 
violin by an old French fiddler, who was the onh^ musician 
in the place. 

This was Sault Ste. Marie before the canal was built. 

LAKE SUPEEIOR BOATS 

BEFORE THE CANAL 

When the white men first visited Lake Superior the 
only boats that navigated the waters were the birch bark 
canoes of the red men. These, and the larger bateaux 
were also used later by the voyageurs and the hunters 
and trappers and all who were engaged in the fur trade. 
At last the business increased to such an extent that 
larger boats were necessary to carry it on. 

In the early part of the last century there were three 
great fur companies that were engaged in the business i i 
that region. These were the American, the Northwest, 
and the Hudson Bay Companies, and the first boats on 
Lake Superior were those in the employ of these com- 
panies. They were all small schooners, ranging in ton- 
nage from twenty to one hundred tons, and were all built 
on the shore of Lake Superior. There were five of them, 
called the Otter, Mink, Invincible, Discovery, and Re- 



SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT ^-17 

covery. For six years after these boats went out of ex- 
istence the bark canoes were again the only boats on 
Lake Superior. 

In 1835 another boat was placed in the employ of the 
Fur Companies. It was called the John Jacob Astor. 
It was built above the Rapids and was somewhat larger 
than those in the first fleet. This was followed by the 
William Brewster, built at the same place for the Ameri- 
can Fur Company of Detroit. 

In 1839 the schooner Algonquin was hauled over the 
portage at the Sault and launched into the waters of 
Lake Superior. She made her first voyage in 1840. In 
1856 she was sunk. The Honorable Peter White tells us 
that her hull is in the bulrushes, near Duluth, at the pres- 
ent time. In 1893 it was proposed to raise her and send 
her to the World's Fair in Chicago, but for some reason 
this was not done. 

There is an interesting story of another of these 
pioneer schooners, the Sis-co-wit. At this time the city 
of Marquette was very new and on the extreme boundary 
of civilization. It was in the latter part of November. 
Winter was approaching, navigation would soon be closed 
by the ice in the lakes, and Marquette would be shut off 
from vessel communication with the outside world. The 
Sis-co-wit on her last voyage of the season was engaged 
to carry a cargo of corn and oats from the Sault to Mar- 
quette. But for reasons known only to himself, the Cap- 
tain sailed past his destination, straight on to Baraga, 
where he stripped his boat and laid her up for the winter, 
cargo and all. 

The good people of Marquette were aroused to a fierce 



218 WHEN" MICHIGxVX WAS KEW 

indignation. They would not calmly submit to the out- 
rage. The excitement arose to a high pitch, and at last 
ended in the starting out of two brave, strong men, on 
snow shoes, over the snow covered country to bring the 
boat with her precious cargo back to Marquette. They 
arrived safely at Baraga, took forcible possession of the 
vessel, refitted her for the voyage and sailed away on 
Christmas Eve, arriving at Marquette on Christmas day, 
with the cargo of corn and oats, and the mercury fifteen 
degrees below zero. 

In 1845, several vessels were taken over the Sault 
portage. Among them was the schooner Merchant. In 
1847, Peter White was at the Sault and very anxious to 
take passage on the Merchant for the copper country. 
But fortunately for the lad and also for the later welfare 
of the Upper Peninsula, the boat was already overloaded 
with passengers and there was no room for him. The 
boat never reached her destination. She sprang a leak, 
and sank with all on board. 

The first steamer on Lake Superior was the Inde- 
pendence, of two hundred and fifty tons burthen. She 
was taken over the portage in 1845. Although she was 
full rigged like a sailing vessel and had a powerful steam 
engine, she was always in trouble. Neither wind nor 
steam, nor both combined could manage her when she 
became stubborn. In 1849, when she had made but one 
trip, she went ashore at Eagle Harbor and stayed there 
for a whole year. When she was again afloat she met 
with another accident that ended her career. When but 
a mile out from the Sault on a trip to the Northern 
ports, her boiler exploded and her wreck was scattered 



SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 219 

over the water. There were other boats, schooners and 
steamers, that reached the Great Lake over the portage. 
There was the Julia Pahiier, a sidewheel steamer that 
was in service only one year, and the propeller Na- 
poleon that sailed into Marquette on her first voyage and 
landed her passengers and cargo four miles from the 
dock, on account of the imaginary danger of foundering 
on the sunken rocks in the harbor. 

The steamer Manhattan was larger and finer than 
any that had yet appeared on the Lake. She was in 
service from 1850 to 1858, when she was wrecked on the 
shore near Pictured Rocks. She was very popular as a 
passenger boat. In 1851 the propeller Monticello arrived 
for the purpose of forcing her out of business. There 
was a fierce competition between the two boats for the 
patronage of the traveling public, each striving to secure 
the passengers and freight at the lowest rates possible. 

x\t last the feeling between the managers of the two 
boats arose to such a pitch that each became determined 
to destroy the other, regardless of consequences in loss 
of life and property. This recklessness ended in a col- 
lision between tliem and the Manhattan was sunk. For- 
tunately no lives were lost. *But she did not remain long 
at the bottom of the Lake. In six weeks she had been 
raised, rebuilt, and was again in service, as good as ever. 
She met with a fine reception u])on her appearance 
once more at Marquette. A party of young ladies 
dressed in white, carrying flowers, met the Captain on 
the dock. They presented him with a fine American 
flag and sang a song of welcome which had been com- 
posed for the occasion. The Monticello never recov- 



230 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

ered from the effects of the collision. Soon after it 
occurred she sprang a leak in a gale and was wrecked on 
the rocks. 

The next steamer was the two-piped, upper-cabined, 
side-wheel steamer, Baltimore. She was followed by the 
propeller Peninsula, which was taken over the portage 
in 1852. She was launched in the spring of 1853 and 
wrecked the same year at Eagle river. During the same 
year Captain Eber B. Ward brought the steamer Sam 
Ward over the portage, which ended the tedious passage 
of vessels in this way. In 1855 the canal was completed 
and a waterway provided for all boats for all time. 

THE FIRST CANAL„ 

Michigan became a State in January, 1837, with 
Stevens T. Mason as its first Governor. In his first mes- 
sage to the Legislature he offered a resolution for the 
building of a canal at Sault Ste. Marie, which was acted 
upon favorably, and twenty-five thousand dollars ap- 
propriated for the survey of the channel. In 1838 the 
State of Michigan entered into a contract with a Buffalo 
firm to build the canal. 

So far the State had acted without the consent or 
support of the National Government, which was not in 
favor of the canal and only waited for an opportunity 
to check the work. The route as marked by the surveyors 
passed through a military reservation. This offered an 
excuse for the United States authorities to interfere, and 
under orders from Washington a detachment of soldiers 
from the Fort marched to the place and drove the cou- 



SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 321 

tractors away. This ended the first attempt to build a 
'canal. 

But the State of Michigan would not give up the pro- 
ject without a struggle. An appeal was made to Con- 
gress, protesting against any interference on the part 
of the United States government. A bill was also intro- 
duced in Congress to grant a tract of land to help in the 
building of the canal, but this bill was not passed. 

In 1843 another attempt was made to secuie the aid 
of Congress in the matter. It is evident that the learned 
men at Washington were not familiar with the geography 
of Michigan. So great a man as Henry Clay opposed 
the building of the canal, ''because,'^ he said, ''it meant 
a great work at a great expense, for which there was 
no necessity. The location was beyond the remotest set- 
tlements of the United States, and the building of a canal 
would be as useless as to build a canal on the face of the 
moon.'' 

Other appeals were made to Congress without suc- 
cess until the discovery of the great ore beds in the Lake 
Superior coimtry aroused public interest; then people 
began to travel northward in search of fortunes. Not 
until this time did Congress begin to realize the im- 
portance of the State of Michigan and the necessity of a 
canal for the passage of boats into Lake Superior. With- 
out further opposition a tract of land was granted to the 
State of Michigan to aid in building the canal, and ten 
years allowed for its completion. 

The story of the Sault Ste. Marie canal furnishes a 
brilliant example to the young men of our country of 
what hard work and perseverance can accomplish. 



222 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

Charles T. Harvey, a young man in the employ of an 
Eastern manufacturing concern, was an invalid. He 
had been sent by his employers to the Lake Superior 
region for his health and also to learn all that was pos- 
sible about the resources and possibilities of develop- 
ment in the new mining regions. When the news reached 
the Sault that Congress had granted seven hundred and 
fifty thousand acres of land to the State of Michigan to 
aid in building the canal, Harvey wrote to his employers 
asking permission to engage in the work. His request 
was granted. He was given full permission to act for 
his employers in the undertaking and authorized to draw 
on them for the necessary expenses. 

His first step was to organize a surveying party. 
While the survey was being made he started out in search 
of a stone quarry that would furnish suitable stone for 
the locks. He found one on Drummond's Island. The 
building of the Sault Ste. Marie canal was a great under- 
taking if we consider the existing conditions at that time 
and in that locality. Everything was new. The people 
were a mixed population of whites, Indians and half- 
breeds. The surrounding country was an undeveloped 
wilderness. The nearest machine shops and foundries 
were several hundred miles away ; the nearest telegraph, 
station from which they could be reached was at Detroit, 
four hundred and fifty miles distant. All of the powder 
necessary for the blasting of the rocks must be brought 
from the far Eastern states, and it took six weeks or 
more for a letter to go there and the reply to return. As 
there were not enough laboring men in that region to 
build the canal, agents were sent to the Eastern sea- 



SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 223 

ports to meet the incoming ships from foreign lands and 
hire the immigrants. They then took them in gangs to 
the Sanlt, paid their fare and expenses, and set them to 
work as soon as they arrived. 

Harvey lost no time in beginning the work. He went 
to Detroit, where he purchased horses, tools and neces- 
sary supplies, lumber and provisions, and, with the 
four hundred immigrants who had just arrived, he 
loaded the steamer Illinois to the guards and started for 
the Sault, where he arrived June 1, 1853. 

As soon as the boat touched the dock the horses were 
hitched to the wagons, upon which the lumber was al- 
ready loaded, and driven to the site of the canal. In 
forty-eight hours small, rough houses were ready for 
their tenants and meals were being served. 

On June 4, the third day after landing, the workmen, 
in gangs, each in charge of a foreman, were marched 
to the site of the canal, where Harvey with his own hands 
broke the ground and wheeled away the first load of 
earth from what was to prove one of the greatest water- 
ways of the century. 

From this time the work progressed in a wonderful 
manner. The difficulties that arose at times seemed 
almost unsurmountable, but all things yielded to the 
brave, undaunted spirit of the young leader. The win- 
ter days were very short and very cold, much colder, it 
is claimed, than they are at the present time. There was 
great danger of faces and ears being bitten by the frost 
and their owners unfitted for work. To prevent this 
and keep every man at his work, men were stationed at 
intervals along the whole mile stretch of two thousand 



224 WHEX MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

laborers, and whenever a pair of ears or a nose began to 
stiffen and show signs of a frost bite the owner was 
seized by one of the watchmen and the chilled member 
was rubbed vigorously with snow. This was done that 
no man might be obliged to leave his place, and thus 
delay even in this slight degree the completion of the 
work. 

In 1854 an epidemic of cholera broke out and about 
one-tenth of the workmen died with the disease. This 
was a difficulty which required much tact to overcome. 
If the real conditions had been known there would have 
been a panic among the laborers and work on the canal 
would have been delayed. To prevent this a knowledge 
of the real nature of the disease was kept from the work- 
men. The sick were cared for in rude hospitals which 
were placed at some distance from the canal. The dead 
were removed from these hospitals and buried secretly 
at night. Owing to these precautions the terrible de- 
crease in their numbers was not generally known and 
the work progressed day after day as if nothing like a 
pestilence was among them. 

When Congress granted the tract of land to aid in the 
building of the Sault Ste. Marie canal, the State of 
Michigan was allowed three years to make preparations 
to begin the work, and ten years for its completion. Un- 
der the vigorous management of Charles T. Harvey the 
work was completed in less than two years. On April 
19, 1855, Mr. Harvey opened the gate and let the Waters 
of Lake Superior flow into the canal. The first boats to 
pass through were the steamer Illinois, bound up, and 
the steamer Baltimore, bound down. 



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PETER WHITE 

Peter White was born in Rome, Oneida County, New 
York. His grandfather and his grandmother were citi- 
zens of the same place. An interesting story is recorded 
of the patriotism of his grandparents and the part they 
took in the making of the first American flag. The story 
is as follows : 

On June 14, 1777, the American Congress, then in 
session at Philadelphia, adopted the following resolu- 
tion : 

''Resolved, That the flag of the United States be 
thirteen stripes, alternate red and white. That the union 
be thirteen stars, woven in a blue field representing a 
new constellation." 

There was no bunting or other material for the mak- 
ing of flags at that time, no gauzy webs of red, white and 
blue, the adopted colors of the new nation. But a flag 
must be made and a substitute for the necessary colors 
must be provided. There was an officer's overcoat for 
the blue, a soldier's cotton shirt for the white, but 
nothing for the red until Captain Stephen White ap- 
propriated one of his wife's woolen petticoats, when the 
flag was soon completed and unfurled over Fort Schuyler, 
a military post on the site of the present city of Rome, 
the birthplace of Peter Wliite. 

Very early in his life his parents removed to Green 



226 WHEX MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

Bay, Wisconsin. At the age of fifteen he left home and 
started out on his eventful career, through which he has 
become known as the founder as well as the maker of the 
city of Marquette, and has also earned the title of ''The 
Grand Old Man of the Upper Peninsula." 

He first went to Mackinaw, where he heard many 
wonderful tales of the old copper mines further north, 
and he determined to visit the region as soon as pos- 
sible. But, although he made several attempts, all his 
plans proved unsuccessful. 

We must remember that there was no canal at Sault 
Ste. Marie at that time and very few boats of any kind. 
In order to enter the waters of Lake Superior it was 
necessary to haul the boat over the portage or draw her 
up against the swiftly flowing waters of the steep rapids. 
In either case this was a formidable and sometimes a 
dangerous undertaking. When Peter White asked for 
the privilege of working his passage on one of these boats 
which was bound for the copper country he was refused, 
as the boat had already a full crew and an overload of 
passengers. This was a fortunate circumstance for the 
lad, for the boat sank with all on board before she 
reached her destination. 

Later he became a sailor on the schooner Beta Hub- 
bard, which made regular trips at that time between 
Detroit and the Sault. While on one of these trips the 
schooner was wrecked near Thunder Bay Island. The 
crew managed to reach the Island, and from there they 
were taken to Bay City by the steamer Chicago. Just as 
they were leaving this place to return to Detroit on 
another boat Peter fell and broke his arm. As there was 



PETER WHITE 227 

no physician in that region at the time he was obliged to 
submit to the services of a woman who acted as nurse in 
the little village. 

When he arrived in Detroit his arm was in a terrible 
condition. He was taken to the office of Doctor Cobb, 
who immediately decided that amputation was necessary. 
As was customary at that time, a number of the city 
physicians were invited to witness the operation. They 
entered the room and exchanged greetings with the 
operating surgeon, who was arranging his instruments, 
but none of them paid any attention to the suffering lad, 
who lay stretched out, securely strapped in the operating 
chair, watching the horrible preparations. 

While they were arranging their chairs in front of the 
silent victim, the old-time famous Detroit physician. 
Doctor Pitcher, entered the room. He did not sit down, 
but went directly to the patient and examined the arm. 
After a brief consultation with Doctor Cobb he proposed 
that the operation be delayed for a few days. He then 
took charge of the case and gave the lad a course of treat- 
ment that resulted in saving his arm, and, although it 
was carried in a sling for four months, at the end of that 
time it was a good arm. 

In 1849 Peter White joined a party of prospectors, 
who were on their way to the Upper Peninsula to locate 
and develop the iron ore mines. At the time he started 
on this expedition he was eighteen years of age. His 
first work in the new conntry consisted in clearing the 
brush and removing the sod that covered that particular 
part of the underground })eds of iron ore, where he was 
located. This was the first step in the development of 



228 WHE^ MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

one of the greatest industries in the world. The uncov- 
ering of the iron ore led to the mining and shipping of 
the same. Tliis led to a demand for boats to carry the 
ore to the Eastern manufacturing centers, where it be- 
came iron and steel. As the output has increased the 
boats have grown larger, while the manufactured pro- 
ducts of the great beds of iron ore are now exported to 
all parts of the world. But Peter White could not foresee 
all that was to follow the lifting of that first sod. 

He did his work and he did it well, without a thought 
that he was beginning a new history of a new country, 
in which he was to figure as the principal character. He 
wrote his name on the title page of his own home region 
by cutting the first tree in the clearing that grew wider 
and wider, to make room for the city of Marquette. He 
appears to have been a pioneer in several other move- 
ments. He was one of the builders of the first hotel in 
Marquette. He drove the first horse that was owned in 
Marquette and was a proud lad when this task was as- 
signed him. Soon after the horse arrived a team of oxen 
and a cow were purchased by the company. 

'^ Peter, can you drive these oxen!" he was asked. 

Now, although Peter knew nothing about driving 
oxen, he was too clever to confess it, but as he did know 
that he was willing to make the attempt, he replied 
rather hesitatingly: 

^'I believe I can, sir,'' and without further question- 
iiig the team was placed in his charge. 

He had seen oxen driven and he had heard the drivers 
speak to them in a language which they understood, 
although he did not. He took the team some distance 



PETER WHITE 229 

away from the camp, out of sight and hearing of any 
of the party, and began to experiment with tlie words 
which he had heard tlie drivers use. He first shouted at 
the top of his voice ''Whoa.'' The oxen stopped im- 
mediately. Peter had learned the meaning of one word 
in oxen language. He then shouted ''Haw." The oxen 
turned to the left. Then ' ' Gee, ' ' and they turned to the 
right. He had learned his lesson, and was now an expert 
oxen driver, and when he returned to the camp, proudly 
shouting "Haw," and "Gee," and "Whoa " no one 
imagined that this was his first experience. 

Later in the summer a large party of immigrants 
arrived to work as laborers in the mines. Many of them 
were ill with a contagious fever when the vessel reached 
the dock. As this was the year of the cholera epidemic, 
the fever was mistaken for that dreadful disease. The 
sick men were placed in a rude hospital. The disease 
spread until there were few left to care for them and at 
last Peter White was called upon to act as nurse. Peter 
knew very little about drugs, or medicines of any kind. 
Instead of meddling with these mysteries he adopted the 
cold water treatment, which proved a blessing to his 
patients. Among them was the only physician in the 
community. Dr. Kogers, who received the same treat- 
ment as the immigrants. But he was not at all satisfied 
with Peter's methods. Although he tried to advise his 
nurse in a professional manner he was too weak to make 
himself understood. Peter continued his treatment, 
plunging his patients one after the other in the cold 
water to reduce the fever, and when, in their delirious 
ravings, they called for food or medicine he gave them 



230 WHEN MICHlGx^N WAS NEW 

another bath and cold water to drink. In this vigorous 
manner he treated them for two weeks, nntil the fever 
began to subside. And then the Doctor said to him in 
a faint voice: 

''Peter, you have saved our lives. If you could have 
understood what I was trying to say to you and had fol- 
lowed my advice you would have killed all of u.s.'' 

Although Peter White is a native American, through 
his long and strenuous life in a cosmopolitan community 
added to his natural ability, he could speak several lan- 
guages and various dialects, both French and Indian. 
No two distinct Indian tribes speak the same language. 
Bnt this did not prevent him from talking with them. 
Whenever he came in contact with an Indian who spoke 
in a strange language he immediately set himself the 
task of learning it. In this way he acquired a wonder- 
ful vocabulary, which proved of great value in later 
years. 

From a mere lad, the Indians were all his friends. 
They trusted him and liked him because he could talk to 
them and tell them stories in their own language. For 
this reason he often acted as interpreter when the com- 
pany dealt with the Indians. 

On one occasion he was sent on an important mission 
to Escanaba. For a boy of eighteen this was a great 
undertaking. It meant an overland trip across the penin- 
sula, through a continuous forest. Two of his Chippewa 
friends volunteered to accompany him. Their names 
were Mongoose and Jimmeca. This was his first ex- 
perience in following a blazed trail through a wilderness. 
At the end of the fourth day Peter was about ready to 



PETEK WHITE 231 

turn back. There is nothing more monotonous and 
wearisome than following a trail. The dark woods 
seemed endless, and the silence was oppressive. He 
thought of the Children of Israel, who were in the Wild- 
erness for forty years, and he pitied them. He had been 
in it but four days, and he was already weary and dis- 
couraged. 

But at last after seven days spent in scrambling 
through brush and briers and tangles, and in floundering 
through swamps and marshes, he arrived at his destina- 
tion. The return trip was made in five days. Upon his 
arrival home, while still aching and smarting from the 
effects of his journey, he made a resolution that he would 
never go into the wilderness again. But this resolution 
was soon broken. 

During the first winter the little colony at Marquette 
was shut off almost entirely from communication with 
the outside world. There were only three or four mails 
brought into the place during the whole season and these 
were very highly prized. There were few letters and 
fewer newspapers. The newspapers were carefully 
wrapped in cloth to preserve them, and were passed from 
hand to hand until all had read them. The following win- 
ter, 1850, the population of Marquette had so increased 
that measures were taken to establish a regular mail 
service. Twelve hundred dollars was subscribed by 
different people, and the deputy postmaster who was in 
charge of postal affairs at the time was instructed to hire 
someone to go after the mail. Twelve hundred dollars 
seemed a fortune to Peter White and he quickly volun- 



232 WHEN" MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

teered to carry the mail for tlie money. But the deputy 
postmaster laughed at him. 

' ' You ! " he said, "Why, you could not do it. You are 
not old enough nor strong enough. It will take a full- 
grown man to do the work.'' 

But notwithstanding this rebuff, Peter's persistence 
won him the job, and in two days he started. Two of his 
Indian friends went with him. It seemed as if every man 
in Marquette had left a wife, or a mother, or children in 
some part of the country, and hundreds of letters were 
written by the men when they learned that Peter White 
was going to carry the mail. 

Everybody was so interested in the great event that it 
really seemed as if the whole town was watching him 
when he started. The mail, together with the provisions 
they would need while on the trip, made a heavy back- 
load for Peter and his two companions. The mail was 
taken to L'Anse, where they met carriers from other 
points. Here Peter established a postal station. It was 
primitive and inexpensive, but it served as a postoffice 
without a postmaster. He hung a mail bag on the limb 
of a tree. In this he left the mail that remained for the 
carriers who had not yet arrived. 

The second trip was not so tedious. A team of dogs 
and a sled were used to carry the mail. The sled was 
long and flat, shaped somewhat like a toboggan. The 
dogs were strong mongrel curs and could travel between 
four and five miles an hour. They were savage and 
stubborn and easily excited, especially when they scented 
the wolves that sneaked along the trail. At such times 
they became almost unmanageable. The only way they 



PETER WHITE 



233 



could be kept under control was by feeding them at short 
intervals. The mail was securely strapped on the sled. 
Peter, on snow shoes, ran along by the side of it, guiding 
and controlling the leading dog by a strong string tied 




PETER WHITES SNOW SHOES 



to its collar. He carried a stick with which he stopped 

the sled when necessary by pushing it into the deep snow. 

A recent writer has given us a pen picture of Peter 



234 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

White when he first started out as mail carrier. He was 
a slender lad, with a full beard which seemed to add 
several years to his age. His dress was typical of the 
time as well as of the locality. He wore a blue and white 
striped hickory shirt, which was an extremely popular 
garment in the early days. Over this, both in summer 
and winter, he wore a heavy red flannel shirt. His moc- 
casins, or shoe pacs, were large enough to allow room 
for two or three pair of warm woolen stockings. A thick 
coat, a wool or fur cap pulled down over the ears, and a 
knitted scarf wound around the neck completed the cos- 
tume. 

Peter made nine trips during the winter. Through 
his efficient service he became the most popular citizen 
of 'Marquette, even at that early day. But popularity, 
an unusual and uncommon experience, and a vigorous 
course in physical training were all he received for his 
winter's work. While the citizens of Marquette read 
and enjoyed their letters and newspapers they forgot all 
about their promises to pay their mail carrier for his 
services. 

In 1851 Peter White went away from home on a 
fishing expedition. When he returned he found that the 
new County of Marquette had been organized and that 
he had been elected County Treasurer and Kegister of 
Deeds. He made a protest against accepting two such 
important offices, asserting that he was not yet of age 
and could not legally hold them. 

''Peter, keep still, '^ said one of his friends. "It is 
necessary that the County Clerk shall know how to write, 
and you are one of the few in Marquette who can do so. ' ' 



PETER WHITE 235 

Peter kept still and became a County official before 
he was twenty-one years of age. Through his appoint- 
ment as Clerk, he became a member of the School Board, 
which office he has held ever since, a period of more than 
fifty years. 

When the first vessel arrived at Marquette early in 
the spring of 1852 it brought a large letter, thick and 
bulky, bearing the seal of the United States Government, 
and the address of Peter White. Peter was very much 
astonished. He did not suppose that anyone outside the 
Marquette region had ever heard of him, least of all, 
anyone who was connected with the United States Gov- 
ernment. He was afraid of the letter, and he refused to 
accept it and would not open it. He said he had done 
nothing against the Government and he did not want the 
Government to do anything to him. He declared that 
there had been some mistake and that the letter did not 
belong to him even if it did bear his name. At last, to 
settle the matter, a public meeting was called. A Mr. 
Jacobs acted as chairman. After much discussion, in 
which Peter still persisted in his determination to have 
nothing to do with the document, Mr. Jacobs said : 

''I will open the letter for you, Peter, and I will be 
responsible for the consequences, whatever they may be.'' 

Mr. Jacobs opened the letter and read aloud the 
application for the office of Postmaster. There was a 
blank space for Peter's signature and printed instruc- 
tions for the filling out of other spaces with the names of 
his indorsers. But with all this, Peter still claimed that 
there was some mistake 



236 WHEN MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

''It is not meant for me," he said, "and I will not 
accept the office." 

Bnt he changed his mind, and in a few weeks a mail 
bag with a complete postal equipment came to him, also 
his official appointment as Postmaster. He held the 
position for twelve years. 

The population of Marquette increased with the 
growth of the mining industry. But with the approach 
of winter and the close of navigation they were still cut 
off from all communication with their friends. No rail- 
road had yet been built. Again the citizens began to 
think of their newspapers and letters. It was the same 
old story repeated. Their last mail had reached them in 
October. They were becoming impatient. They realised 
that they would not receive any more during the entire 
winter unless something was done. 

Their thoughts turned to their Postmaster, Peter 
White. A mass meeting was called and he was invited to 
attend. It was an enthusiastic and excited gathering 
that welcomed him. Many speeches were made. Every- 
body had something to say, and everybody agreed on the 
one thing. Peter White must go after the mail. No 
one else could do it. And Peter White once more became 
mail carrier for the people of Marquette. 

He was accompanied by six Indians and three dog 
teams of six dogs each. It was in the month of January, 
1854, that he started. 'They took nearly one thousand 
letters to be posted. The snow was very soft and snow- 
shoeing was tedious. On the seventh day while they were 
advancing very slowly in the deep, wet snow that cov- 
ered the ice of Cedar river they saw in the far, misty 



PETER WHITE 237 

distance what at first appeared to be five immense loads 
of hay slowly approaching them. But later, as the two 
processions drew nearer to each other, they saw five 
double teams drawing five sleigh loads of United States 
mail, bound for Lake Superior places, by way of Es- 
canaba and Marquette. This mail matter weighed 
between seven and eight tons and was in charge of a Mr. 
Whitney of Green Bay. The Post Office at that place 
was so overcrowded with mail that it became necessary 
to send it on to its destination by this unusual method, 
instead of waiting for the carriers to come after it. Mr. 
"Whitney had engaged ten men to assist him. Some were 
Indians and some were Frenclmien. 

Peter White immediately took charge of the whole 
outfit. He packed the contents of one of the large sleighs 
on his dog sleds, and then sent the entire party, Indians 
and Frenchmen, horses and sleighs, and dogs and sleds, 
with the tons of mail on to Escanaba and Marquette, 
while he and Mr. Whitney took the team of horses and 
empty sleigh and drove to Green Bay. 

Something has got to be done," said Peter, as he 
studied the conditions at the Post Office in this place. 
There was still left about a hundred bushels of mail for 
Marquette and other Lake Superior places, and more was 
arriving every day. He thought of his fellow-citizens 
who were anxiously awaiting his return with the wel- 
come message that a regular mail service had been 
secured for them. He could not go back to them with- 
out it. 

"Something has got to be done,'' he repeated. And 
he immediately set about doing something. 



238 WHEX MICHIGAX WAS XEW 

His first step in the matter was to communicate with 
General Cass in Washington. The nearest telegraph 
station was at Fond du Lac. Without delay be journeyed 
there and began sending messages at a rapid rate. Peter 
forgot that telegrams cost money, even more at that 
time than they do now. He told Senator Cass a great 
many things about the Upper Peninsula that he did not 
know. And if we can believe all the stories that are 
told about the affair, he scolded the United States Gov- 
ernment vigorously, protesting against the treatment of 
the Upper Peninsula people by the Post Office Depart- 
ment. He kept the wires busy between Green Bay and 
Washington for two days. 

At last he received a message informing him that a 
letter would soon arrive at Green Bay for him. While 
he was waiting for the letter the telegraph operator 
presented him with a bill for sixty dollars. Peter was 
very much surprised. He was a thrifty, clever calculator 
in all business matters, but in his excitement he had for- 
gotten his principles. He had expected to pay about 
one-sixth of the amount, which he considered a fair rate. 
As the United States Government was responsible for 
the account Peter suffered no personal loss, but it is 
possible that he learned a valuable lesson in the mys- 
teries of telegraphy. 

In three days the letter arrived informing him that a 
special agent of the Post Office Department had been 
wired to meet him at Green Bay. While waiting for the 
agent he rearranged the collection of mail and mail bags 
in the Post Office, to make as great an exhibit as pos- 
sible, in order to more thoroughly impress the Govern- 



PETEPt WHITE . 239 

ment with the urgent need of a better service for the 
Upper Peninsula. 

Peter displayed great tact in the management of the 
affair. He refrained from broaching the subject of busi- 
ness while his visitor was tired and hungry. Instead, he 
met him at the stage, escorted him to a hotel and gave 
him a fine supper. In a few hours he had secured the 
promise of one trip of the mail carriers eacliweek from 
Green Bay to the Upper Peninsula. But he was not 
satisfied with this. He wanted more. And as has been 
the case in nearly everything that he has undertaken, he 
got what he wanted. 

He continued to entertain the agent for several days 
longer with such a liberal hospitality that before he left 
Green Bay the service had been increased to three trips 
a week. From that date the people of the Upper Penin- 
sula have always had a regular mail service. 

In 1856 Peter White was elected a member of the 
State Legislature. It took him fifteen days to get to 
Lansing. He traveled on snow shoes from Marquette to 
Escanaba. From there to Fond du Lac he rode in a 
stage and walked the rest of the way. His first appear- 
ance at Lansing created a great sensation. Everybody 
had heard of him and he was heartily cheered as he took 
his seat. When his term expired he walked back to Mar- 
quette. He was now known as the Honorable Peter 
White. 

In 1857 he began to study law. As there was neither 
lawyer nor judge in Marquette at that time he decided to 
provide one to settle the quarrels of his fellow-citizens. 
There was neither school nor college where he could 



240 WHEN" MICHIGAN WAS NEW 

enter as a student, bnt there were books, and he began 
to study them, with such good results that he was later 
admitted to the bar and became a practicing lawyer in 
the town. 

As the years passed Peter White grew to be a wealthy 
and influential man. Through his liberal generosity in 
all movements that pertained to improving or beautify- 
ing the city, or to the welfare of his fellow-citizens, he 
had become the leading man in Marquette. 

Whenever the people of the Upper Peninsula were 
in need of Government assistance they called upon Peter 
White and they never called in vain. In 1875, when 
they wanted a railroad from Marquette to Ste. Ignace he 
was elected State Senator and sent to Lansing to secure 
a grant for that purpose. This was twenty years after 
his first election as a State Representative. On that 
occasion he walked the most of the way from Marquette 
to Lansing. This time he rode in a comfortable railway 
car. 

It has been said that the name of Peter White is so 
conspicuous in all the great movements that mean the 
development of the Lake Superior country that it is diffi- 
cult to decide whether he made the Upper Peninsula or 
the Upper Peninsula made him. But among all the great 
things which he has accomplished there is probably 
nothing which will prove such a lasting benefaction to 
the greatest number of his fellow-citizens as Presque 
Isle Park. The word Presque Isle means ^^ almost an 
island," and is descriptive of the locality. It is a pic- 
turesque stretch of woodland, with a rugged, rocky shore. 
The United States Government had reserved it for light- 



PETER WHITE 



241 



house purposes. Peter White could see it from his study 
window. 

''What a fine park it would make/' he said to himself. 

And this thought grew in his mind until he decided 
that the City of Marquette needed a park much more 
than the Lighthouse Department needed Presque Isle, 
and he went to Washington to see what could be done 
about it. At first there was much opposition to his plan. 
But when the men who had the power to grant or to 




PETER WHITE PUBLIC LIBRARY 

refuse his request heard his story and remembered what 
he had accomplished in hewing a city out of a wilderness 
and bringing civilization to its inhabitants, they changed 



242 WHE:jsr MICHIGAK WAS NEW 

their minds. A bill was passed giving Presque Isle to 
Marquette for park purposes, and Mr. White went home 
with a draft of it in his pocket. 

No other man in the State of Michigan has seen so 
many and so great changes in his own community, and 
taken so active a part in those changes as Mr. White. 
Where once he followed the blazed Indian trail on snow 
shoes through an unbroken wilderness he now travels in 
comfortable luxury. Th^ trails have been graded, 
bridged and tunneled, and long trains of cars speed over 
them. His dog teams and sledges with their bulky loads 
of precious newspapers and letters have passed out to 
make room for the modern fast mail. And his Indian 
companions have passed out with them. The hidden 
wealth of the ore beds which he first exposed to the 
sunlight is ever rising to the surface, and being borne 
away by the monster steel freighters which have crowded 
out of existence the pioneer schooner ore carriers. 
Where the ravenous wolf once howled and snarled 
around the pioneer homes, cities are growing, and there 
are mines, and mills and factories, giving employment to 
thousands of human beings. I find no fitter words to 
close this little story than those of the poet, William H. 
Drummond : 

^'•When such men build the foundation, easy it is to 
raise the superstructure, and the trail Peter White has 
cut through life is blessed by acts of private charity, 
and deeds of public devotion that will serve as a guide to 
those who follow in the footsteps of a truly great, and, 
above all, a good man.'' 



Little People of Other Lands Series 

======== By Mary Muller =^== 



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A. FLANAGAN COMPANY, CHICAGO 



Charming Animal Stories - - Jd New 



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Jl^W 15 l^t> 



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